Apprenticeships in Ontario: a parent's guide

What an apprenticeship actually is

An apprenticeship is a paid job with training attached. Your teenager works for a sponsor — an employer, a union training centre or a group sponsor — who agrees to teach the trade, and every so often they leave the job for a block of in-school training at a college. The province tracks the hours. When the hours and the in-school levels are done, they write a certifying exam and receive a Certificate of Qualification. In a Red Seal trade, that certificate works in every province.

Three things surprise parents most: it is paid from the first day, it usually takes four to five years, and the hardest step is not the exam — it is finding the sponsor.

The numbers, for the trades parents ask about

Every figure below is from the June 2026 Skilled Trades Ontario chart. “Grade” is the official academic standard — the legal minimum, which is often lower than what employers expect.

Starting in high school: OYAP

The Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Programis how a student starts before graduating. It runs through the school board's co-op program: the student takes a co-op placement with an employer in an apprenticeable trade, and if the employer is willing, the student is registered as an apprentice while still in school. The hours count toward the apprenticeship. Some boards also offer accelerated OYAP, where the student completes Level 1 in-school training at a college as a dual credit before graduating.

The person to ask for is the board's OYAP coordinator. Guidance and the co-op teacher will know who that is. In Chatham-Kent, both the Lambton Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic board run it.

After high school with no sponsor: pre-apprenticeship

Ontario funds free pre-apprenticeship programs at colleges and training organizations for people who want into a trade but have no employer yet. They generally include safety certifications, Level 1 in-school content and a work placement — and the placement is where a lot of participants find their sponsor.

The step nobody warns you about: the sponsor

An apprenticeship cannot start without an employer willing to sign the Registered Training Agreement. Ways families actually find one:

• The Grade 11 or 12 co-op placement turns into the job. This is the most common route and the reason co-op matters so much.
• A résumé and a handshake. Small contractors and shops still hire apprentices this way.
• Union intake — the building trades unions run their own apprenticeship programs with training centres.
• A pre-apprenticeship placement.
• Someone the family already knows who does the work. Ask. Tradespeople remember who helped them start.

What to do this year, by grade

Grade 9 and 10

Take the technology courses on offer. Arrange one or two job shadows — a day with an electrician, a morning at a shop. This is the cheapest possible way to find out whether the interest survives contact with the work. Keep math.

Grade 11

Co-op. Ask about OYAP by name. If the school says the trade isn't available locally, ask the OYAP coordinator directly — boards sometimes have employers guidance doesn't know about.

Grade 12

If the co-op employer will sponsor, register. If not, apply to pre-apprenticeship programs for the fall, and start the résumé-and-handshake round in the spring before the summer hiring season.

Is it the right path for your teenager?

The route above is the easy part to explain. Whether a trade fits is the part that takes a conversation with someone who does the work — and a look at what your teenager is actually drawn to, rather than what they can name. That is what the parent's guide to helping them choose is about, and what Future Finder gives you in ten minutes.