Time & Cost to Certification Calculator

Pick a trade and the hours you work each week. See how long the on-the-job hours could take, the published fees, and the money that can help.

Ontario publishes only a few apprenticeship fees: Level 1 classroom fees are covered for classes starting on or after January 1, 2026, Levels 2 and up charge $10 a class day, and the first Certificate of Qualification exam attempt is free for apprentices who complete an Ontario apprenticeship (otherwise $150 + HST). The Tools Grant pays up to $1,000 depending on your trade's sector ($400–$1,000 across sectors) — check eligibility. How long it takes depends mostly on how many hours a week you work in the trade — the calculator divides the on-the-job hours by your hours.

Facts checked November 8, 2026 against the official sources listed at the bottom of this page. Rules and fees change — confirm with the organization before you rely on them.

Your estimate

On-the-job hours at your pace

New 4-level curriculum (7,950 hours on the job): 3 years, 10 months
Trade page's 3-level split (8,160 hours on the job): 3 years, 11 months

7,950 hours ÷ 40 hours a week = 199 weeks of work (or 8,160 hours = 204 weeks on the 3-level split). Add 4 in-school levels (1,050 hours in class in total), scheduled by your college. Skilled Trades Ontario's own estimate for the whole apprenticeship is about 5 years. source (opens in a new tab)

Uses the 2025 trade report’s split for the new four-level curriculum (7,950 + 1,050 hours). The trade page still shows 8,160 + 840 over 3 levels; the total is 9,000 hours either way.

Published fees

Level 1 classroom fees$0
Covered by the ministry for classes starting on or after January 1, 2026 (repeats included). source (opens in a new tab)
Classroom fees, Levels 2–4Depends on days
$10 a day for each class day in Levels 2–4. Enter the class days your college gives you to add this up. source (opens in a new tab)
Certificate of Qualification exam, first attempt$0
Free for apprentices who complete an Ontario apprenticeship. A rewrite costs $150 + HST, after a 30-day wait. source (opens in a new tab)
Certificate renewal (after you qualify)$60 + HST / yr
Every year, in compulsory trades only. Not added to the total. source (opens in a new tab)

Known one-time fees: $0 — plus the Levels 2–4 classroom fees once you know your class days.

Not published, so not included: an apprentice registration fee (Skilled Trades Ontario's pages list none), the fee to issue a Certificate of Qualification, tools, books and travel.

Money that can help

Ontario Tools Grant: up to $1,000 depending on your trade's sector ($400–$1,000 across sectors: motive power $1,000, construction $600, industrial $600, service $400) — check eligibility. Taxable. You need to have completed (or been exempted from) Level 1 in-class training on or after April 1, 2020, a registered training agreement, and at least 12 months registered as an apprentice. Ontario lists which sector each trade is in. It is not subtracted from the fees. source (opens in a new tab)
Canada Apprentice Loan: up to $4,000 in interest-free loans for apprentices in a Red Seal trade. It is a loan you pay back, so it is never subtracted from the fees. source (opens in a new tab)
Apprentice Development Benefit — Help with basic living costs, dependent care, commuting and living away from home while you attend full-time in-class training. source (opens in a new tab)

Supports and fees are shown separately: some classroom fees depend on class days you have not entered, so we do not net the two.

Federal apprenticeship grants are not listed: we could not confirm their current status on the Government of Canada's own page.

How this is worked out

Weeks = (on-the-job hours − hours already credited) ÷ hours per week. Months = weeks ÷ (52 ÷ 12).
Classroom fees for Levels 2 and up = $10 × class days per level × number of levels after Level 1.
The Completion Bonus is subtracted from the known fees only when every one-time fee has a price (enter your class days) and the trade is not a Red Seal trade.
The Tools Grant is never subtracted: it depends on your trade's sector, so check your eligibility.
Time spent in class is not converted into weeks, because each college sets its own schedule.

What apprentices earn in Ontario

Apprentices are paid while they train. Here is what sets the rate.

The rule

Ontario law sets no apprentice pay scale. The floor is the general minimum wage — $17.95 an hour since October 1, 2026 — and it applies to apprentices like anyone else. Above that, your employer sets your pay, or, if you are a union member, the collective agreement does.

The old government schedules that set apprentice pay as a percentage of a journeyperson’s rate ended in 2013 (revoked April 8, 2013 by O. Reg. 426/12). The current law, the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021, has no apprentice pay provision. e-Laws(opens in a new tab)
The minimum wage was $17.60 before October 1, 2026. Any yearly change is published by April 1 and takes effect October 1. Ontario’s minimum wage page(opens in a new tab)
Ask what you will be paid — and how it goes up as you progress — before you sign your training agreement.

Each trade page shows what people in the trade earn in Ontario’s 11 regions (Job Bank) and, where a current union agreement is on file, the apprentice rates it prints.

Read about each trade

Each page covers the work, the apprenticeship, the pay, where to train and what to do first.

All of Skilled Trades Careers

Facts checked November 8, 2026

Every number on this page comes from one of these official pages, read on that date. Where two official sources disagree, we show both. Where nothing official is published, we say so instead of estimating. ProScore is not affiliated with these organizations.

The 18 official sources