British Columbia Apprenticeship
How To Become An Electrician

When you train as an electrician apprentice in British Columbia, you first must register with the ITA and then send in records and updates of your progress throughout your apprenticeship.

Once you have completed your training and passed a final examination, you will be awarded a certificate and a "Red Seal," meaning you are qualified to work in any province in Canada.

As an electrician apprentice, you learn your trade through on-the-job training. To do that, you must first be hired by an employer. Finding an employer may take some time and searching as it is similar to finding any other type of job. You should make your resume appealing to potential employers and work on acquiring skills you need. For example, you could take pre-apprenticeship classes at a local technical school to prove you have the aptitude for science and math.

All ages, 16 and up, can qualify for an apprenticeship or pre-apprenticeship training. The better qualified you appear to an employer, the easier it will to get hired so you can start your training. When you are hired, your employer and you will have to file paperwork with the ITA so you can become a registered apprentice. If your employer doesn't have the paperwork to give you, download it from the British Columbia Apprenticeship site, sign it and mail it in. After about ten days, you'll receive your registration number in the mail and you can begin your training.

Most of the training will be done in the field as you work side-by-side with a licensed professional. In fact, nearly 80 percent of your learning will be done this way. The other 20 percent will be done in traditional classrooms as required by the ITA. You and your employer must keep strict records and report your training hours on a regular basis.

Periodically during your British Columbia Apprenticeship training, the ITA will send you notifications in writing when you have reached certain milestones or as a quality control check. It is important to make sure your documentation is up to date, and you quickly correct any errors reported in your transcripts as you work as an electrician apprentice for your employer.

In addition to closely monitoring your reported hours and milestones, you are also responsible for arranging the technical and theoretical training you need to complete the apprenticeship and make you eligible for the final exam. This will probably require making arrangements to take time off from work to attend classroom studies.

In all, a British Columbia apprenticeship program for an electrician takes four years to complete. When your training is finished, the ITA will send a Recommendation for Certification form to your employer. By filing this form, your employer attests that you have the skills to work as a certified electrician. This form has to be signed by a certified electrician who has observed your skills in action. If your employer doesn't think you have learned the skills of an electrician well enough, he can decline to file the form. When that happens, he must recommend a plan for improving your skills and suggest to the ITA a timeframe for completing the additional instruction.

If you have worked successfully as an electrician apprentice and your employer files the recommendation, you will be awarded your credentials from the ITA. The British Columbia apprenticeship program awards you with an interprovincial certification so you can practice your trade throughout Canada.

When you are in training, you'll earn a minimum wage since your skills are weak. You might be eligible for financial assistance for a British Columbia apprenticeship through the ITA. These provide grants and tax credits after each level of training you complete, and may help you bear the cost of items such as textbooks and tools for your electrician apprentice training.

If you want to transfer to another province during your training, you'll need to get approval from the ITA since electrician apprenticeships are overseen by local provincial governments. However, once your training is complete, your credentials are recognized nationally so you have maximum flexibility in your job search and living options.