Programs and Pathways into Technology and the Skilled Trades

Hook: two friends, two paths

Jordan and Priya both love working with their hands. Jordan joins a co-op placement with an electrical contractor in Grade 11, registers as an apprentice before graduating, and earns a paycheque while learning. Priya takes a college diploma in mechanical engineering technology, then works designing parts for a manufacturer. Ten years later, both have rewarding technology careers, and they got there in very different ways.

In this lesson you will research the programs that lead to technology and skilled trades careers, and investigate the structure and the educational and financial requirements of different pathways.

Four destinations, many routes

Ontario describes four main postsecondary destinations: apprenticeship, college, university and the workplace. A pathway is the route of courses, programs and experiences that leads you to one of them. Pathways are flexible: people combine them and change direction. For example, many college programs have agreements that let graduates transfer credits to a university, and many skilled tradespeople later take college courses to become supervisors or technologists.

In-school programs

• Technological education courses. Students who started Grade 9 in September 2024 or later must earn at least one Grade 9 or 10 technological education credit to graduate. Later courses go deeper into one broad-based area.
• Cooperative education (co-op): earn high school credits through a supervised work placement, connected to classroom learning.
• Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP): start training in a skilled trade while still in high school, usually through co-op placements; hours can count toward an apprenticeship. OYAP-FAST (Focused Apprenticeship Skills Training) is a more intensive version in Grades 11 and 12, with many co-op credits in a trade.
• Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM): a bundle of courses in one sector (such as construction, manufacturing, health and wellness, hospitality, transportation or information technology), plus industry certifications (for example, first aid, CPR or WHMIS) and work experience. Graduates receive an SHSM seal on their diploma.
• Dual credits: take a college course, sometimes the first level of an apprenticeship's in-school training, that counts toward both your high school diploma and a college credential.

Community-based programs

• Pre-apprenticeship programs: free, government-funded programs that help people build the skills and connections to start an apprenticeship, often with a work placement.
• Employment Ontario: a network of centres that help people find training, apprenticeships and jobs.
• Skills Ontario: runs skilled trades and technology competitions, camps and outreach, including initiatives for young women and for First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth.
• Union and industry training centres that train apprentices in specific trades.
• Indigenous Skills and Employment Training (ISET) programs, delivered by Indigenous organizations, that support First Nations, Métis and Inuit people in training and careers.
• Career fairs such as Ontario's Level Up! skilled trades events, where students try hands-on activities and meet employers.

The structure of an apprenticeship

An apprenticeship is a way of learning a trade mostly on the job, under the supervision of a certified tradesperson (a journeyperson), combined with classroom training.

1. Find a sponsor: an employer (or union) agrees to train you.
2. Register: you and your sponsor sign a registered training agreement with the province.
3. Learn on the job: about 85 to 90% of an apprenticeship is paid, hands-on work. You record the skills you have mastered.
4. In-school training: about 10 to 15% is classroom and shop training, usually in levels, at a college or training centre.
5. Finish: after completing the required hours and training, you receive a Certificate of Apprenticeship and can write the Certificate of Qualification (C of Q) exam. In Red Seal trades, passing the interprovincial exam gives a Red Seal endorsement that is recognized across Canada.

Some trades in Ontario are compulsory: you must be a registered apprentice or hold a certificate to do the work. Examples include construction and maintenance electrician (309A), plumber, automotive service technician and hairstylist. Others are voluntary, such as general carpenter and cook, where certification is not required but is valued by employers. Skilled Trades Ontario sets the training standards, issues certificates and runs the exams for more than 140 trades.