Apprentices are a smart business move. According to the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum, employers receive an average positive return of 35-43 cents for every dollar they invest in apprenticeship training, depending on the trade. Not only do apprentices learn your business first, they also bring the latest technologies and techniques back from the classroom—further strengthening your team.
Doing your part to support apprentices ensures we carry on a tradition, where sponsors guide eager minds towards building a better future for everyone. You will oversee, challenge and shape these professionals, benefiting your workplace and the future of your trade in the process.
Resources for Employers
Resources for Employers
Financial Benefits for Employers
The Provincial and Federal governments provide income tax credits, grants and other financial support for employers with registered apprentices.
SkilledTradesBC Portal
Use this self-service portal to record work-based training hours for your apprentices, add/remove staff, submit forms, and more.
Verify a Tradesperson’s Certificate
Use this tool to verify if a tradesperson holds a Certification of Qualification of Red Seal in B.C.
Hire a Youth Apprentice
Help build the next generation of apprentices by hiring a youth apprentice.
Skilled Trades Certification
If you employ workers in one of the 7 Skilled Trades Certification trades, also known as compulsory trades, find information on how you can meet the requirements.
Supervision + Sign Off Authority
An experienced tradesperson who is planning to supervise an apprentice can apply for Supervision and Sign Off Authority if they are not certified in their respective trade.
Hire an Apprentice Brochure
This resource is a printable, 2-paged document that summarizes how to and why you should sponsor an apprentice.
Apprenticeship Supports Brochure
This brochure from the Ministry of Post-Secondary and Future Skills outlines financial aid, grants, scholarships, tax credits, and programs available to apprentices and employer sponsors.
What is a Sponsor?
A sponsor is an individual or organization responsible for ensuring apprentices receive on-the-job training and mentorship from a certified journeyperson.
They support their apprentices’ progression through the apprenticeship program, including reporting work-based training hours acquired on the job and providing a recommendation for certification to confirm program requirements are complete.
Sponsors are often the employer of the apprentice, but may also be industry associations, labour organizations, non-profit organizations or other groups.
What is an Employer?
An employer is the individual or company that employs and pays apprentices for their work, while providing the workplace setting for them to gain on-the-job experience and develop their knowledge and skills.
In cases where a sponsor also employs the apprentice, they are referred to as an employer sponsor, playing a dual role to provide both employment and apprenticeship progression support for the apprentice.
Steps to Sponsor an Apprentice
Ready to become a sponsor employer? Follow these 7 steps to success.
Start your search through these channels:
Connect with trade/industry associations or unions
Reach out to your local secondary school; refer to our list of school districts offering SkilledTradesBC Youth in Trades Programs
Contact Indigenous Skills and Employment Training service providers, First Nations band offices or Tribal Councils who can also connect you with prospective apprentices
Advertise for openings on your website, job search websites or social media
Employers:
Ask your employees if they know someone who is interested in becoming an apprentice
Once you’ve found an apprentice, register as a sponsor by creating a SkilledTradesBC Portal account and fill out the registration form for your apprentice. You can expect confirmation of registration in ten business days.
Alternatively, your apprentice can fill out the registration form from their Portal account. If so, you will receive a notification to review and approve their registration request within 30 days.
Note: If you employ workers in a Skilled Trades Certification (Compulsory) trade, you will be prompted to complete a mandatory Employer Workforce Submission and provide information related to your workforce.
As a sponsor—and working with the employer, if applicable—you are responsible for ensuring:
- Your apprentice has proper equipment and understands the safety standards of their workplace
- Your apprentice knows which certified journeyperson (or equivalent) is responsible for supervising their work-based training
- Your apprentice receives work-based training that incorporates the full scope of the trade
Work together with the supervising journeyperson and apprentice to create a structured training plan. Search for the apprentice’s trade using Find Your Trade and review the Program Outline (often near the middle of the page) to inform the training plan.
As a sponsor, you must track your apprentice's hours on the job and report them through the SkilledTradesBC Portal regularly, ideally every three to six months. About 80 per cent of your apprentice’s training time will be at work. One hour on the job is equal to one hour of work-based training.
Your apprentice may accumulate work-based training hours while working for you and/or for another employer. Work-based training hours must be completed under the direct supervision of a certified or SkilledTradesBC-approved tradesperson.
If you require additional staff members to help submit work-based training hours or manage your Portal account, make sure to assign the appropriate Portal user roles to ensure they have the access they need. See our user guides for more details.
As a sponsor, you are responsible for reviewing your apprentice's official records and reporting any discrepancies to SkilledTradesBC.
We will send updated apprentice training transcripts to both sponsors and apprentices when:
- The apprentice completes a level of technical training
- The apprentice challenges a level exam
- The apprentice or sponsor notifies us of a change in sponsorship
- If there is no activity reported for an apprentice for 12 months
About 20 per cent of your apprentice's training time will be in the classroom, which includes both theoretical and practical assessments.
Employer support is required to make it possible for apprentices to attend in-class technical training. This may include releasing apprentices from work for the duration of the class. Talk to your apprentice early on and work together to determine the best options for training times.
The first level of technical training is generally scheduled one year after registering as an apprentice. If your apprentice has been working in the trade for some time, a shorter interval may be appropriate. We recommend scheduling technical training once a year throughout an apprenticeship to get a balance of theory and on-the-job practical experience.
Classes fill up quickly, so encourage your apprentice to register as early as possible to secure a seat for technical training with a SkilledTradesBC-designated training provider.
Once your apprentice has completed both their work-based and technical training and passed the certification exam, SkilledTradesBC will ask you to provide a Recommendation for Certification to attest that your apprentice is now working at the skill level of a certified journeyperson.
Once we receive your recommendation, we will send you the certificate package to sign and present to your apprentice.
If you decide not to recommend your apprentice for certification:
- You must provide the reasons and a training plan to remedy any skill and knowledge deficiencies, including a suggested date for SkilledTradesBC to send another Recommendation for Certification form.
- You are responsible for communicating with your apprentice about your decision and plan.
Subject Matter
Experts
Help us develop and revise trades programs and exams by participating in workshops or webinars.