How Ontario Apprenticeships Work (And What They Pay)

A common gap in how teens see the trades is not knowing how you actually get in. An apprenticeship is a real job that pays you while you learn, with classroom training built in. Here is how it works in Ontario. (For why so many teens overlook this path, see why Ontario teens overlook the trades.)

The basic shape

According to the Government of Ontario, an apprentice learns a skilled trade on the job, alongside experienced workers, and gets paid while doing it. You also learn in a classroom from instructors who know the trade, either on a college campus or in a union training centre.

For most trades, you work for a year and then switch to class for eight to 12 weeks, full or part time. Completing an apprenticeship takes between two and five years, depending on the trade.

Who qualifies

To register as an apprentice you must:

• be at least 16 years old
• have legal permission to work in Canada
• meet the educational requirements for your chosen trade
• have a sponsor in Ontario

A sponsor is whoever provides your training. It can be one employer, an individual such as a contractor, or a group of employers such as a union or a non-union consortium. Finding a sponsor is often the hardest step, and you can change sponsors later.

How to find one

• In high school: ask your guidance counsellor about the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program, the Specialist High Skills Major and dual credit programs.
• Colleges: many have a placement office.
• Employment Ontario: offers services that help match apprentices to sponsors.
• Unions and trade associations: many run their own matching.
• Job Bank, local companies and your own network.

How to register

Applicants 18 and older apply online through the province's Skilled Trades Ontario portal. If you are 16 or 17, you use a paper application that must be signed by a parent or guardian and by your sponsor. Once approved, you and your sponsor sign a training agreement, and your apprenticeship is registered. When you finish, you receive a Certificate of Apprenticeship. In some trades you also write an exam for a Certificate of Qualification.

What it pays

Your sponsor pays you for the on-the-job work. During full-time in-class training, support is available, including the Apprentice Development Benefit, and some apprentices can get Employment Insurance. Ontario has also offered a non-repayable tools grant that varies by trade group. Check ontario.ca for current amounts and eligibility.

Pay depends on the trade, the employer and how far along you are. As one example, Job Bank reports that electricians in Ontario usually earn between $20.00 and $50.50 an hour. That range includes apprentices, so the low end is typically where someone starts and the high end reflects experienced workers. The Ontario government's labour market data rates the 2025–2027 outlook for electricians in Ontario as moderate, with about 44,100 people working in the occupation.

That is one trade. Look up the specific one your teen is curious about, because wages and outlook vary widely.

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