Canada is experiencing a critical shortage of skilled tradespeople.  Employers need highly skilled workers now, and graduates of trades apprenticeship programs are in demand.  A career in trades can offer you a promising future in a secure, well-paid and challenging occupation.

Apprenticeship is an agreement between an individual who wants to learn a skill and an employer who needs a skilled worker.  It is a combination of in-school training and paid on-the-job experience.  The apprenticeship system of training has proven to be one of the world’s most successful ways to learn.

If you want to become an apprentice, first find an employer who will hire you as an apprentice.  You cannot apply to the college for admission to an apprenticeship.  You or your employer must contact a training consultant at the nearest Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities (MTCU) office. A meeting with the training consultant will be held with you and your employer to assess the employer’s ability to train you.  Once this has been determined, the employer will sign an apprenticeship training agreement, which identifies you as an apprentice, and the on-the job training component will begin.

The in-school portion of your training will be scheduled in blocks of 8 weeks for most trades. You will be scheduled for the in-school portion of training by your MTCU training consultant in agreement with your employer.  Once you have received your “Offer of Classroom Training Letter” from the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, you must complete the registration process by contacting the Algonquin College Registrar’s Office 

Telephone:  1-888-269-2762 (toll free) , 613-727-7662 (local)

Email:  apprentice@algonquincollege.com

Fax:  613-727-7632

During in-class training, apprentices may qualify for training allowance or Employment Insurance benefits. 

The Apprenticeship Incentive Grant (AIG) is a taxable grant available to registered apprentices who have successfully completed their first or second year (level) of an apprenticeship program in one of the Red Seal trades.