If you have work experience and training in a skilled trade, you can have your skills and knowledge compared to an Ontario apprenticeship program. This applies even if you have not worked in Ontario before.
This process is called a Trade Equivalency Assessment (TEA). The assessment will compare your skills and knowledge in your trade to the requirements for completing Ontario apprenticeship training in that trade. If your skills and knowledge meet all the requirements, you will be able to apply directly to the Ontario College of Trades to receive certification in your trade.
A Trade Equivalency Assessment must be done through the Ontario College of Trades, and costs $226. If you decide to go through this process, you will need to gather substantial information about your previous training or work experience.
In most cases, if you pass the TEA, the next step will be to challenge the Ontario exam for your trade. The TEA is a pass/fail process, and there is no award for partial equivalency.
For more information, visit the Ontario College of Trades' section about trade equivalency.
Feel welcome to drop in to our Job Search Resource Centre at 58 Queen St. South to talk about and work through this process with an employment counsellor.
