Red Seal Program, specifically known as The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program, is a program that sets common standards for tradespeople in Canada. It is a partnership between the Canadian federal government, the provinces and the territories.
The Red Seal program is under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Council of Directors of Apprenticeship (CCDA) It was created in 1959 as a result of the first National Conference on Apprenticeship in Trades and Industries, held in Ottawa in 1952. Not all provinces/territories participate in all the Red Seal trades.
There are 54 trades currently recognized in the Red Seal program. They include auto mechanic, carpenter, cook, electrician, heavy equipment operator, ironworker, machinist, millwright, pipefitter, plumber, roofer, tool and die maker, and welder.
Operations
When tradespersons complete their apprenticeships and pass the Red Seal examination they receive a Red Seal Endorsement ("RSE") on their provincial/territorial trade certificate, usually called a "Certificate of Qualification".
Chapter 7 of the Canada Free Trade Agreement (formerly the Agreement on Internal Trade) generally requires provincial and territorial governments to recognize individuals who hold certain trade certificates issued by a Canadian province or territory as having met the requirements to practice their occupation elsewhere in Canada.4
Provinces and territories are responsible for administering apprenticeship training and trade certification in their respective jurisdictions, including the administration of the Red Seal Program. Each province and territory administers and regulates apprenticeship and certification under their own legislation:
- Prince Edward Island's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualification Act5
- Nova Scotia's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Trades Qualification Act6
- Newfoundland's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Certification Act7
- New Brunswick's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Act8
- Quebec's program is regulated by the Manpower Vocational Training and Qualification Act9
- Ontario 's program is regulated by the Ontario College of Trades and Apprenticeship Act.10
- Manitoba's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Certification Act.11
- Saskatchewan's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Act12
- Alberta's program is regulated by the Apprenticeship and Industry Training Act13
- British Columbia's program is regulated by the Industry Training Authority Act14
- Nunavut's program is regulated by the Trade and Occupations Certification Act15
- The Yukon Territories' program is regulated by the Apprenticeship Training Act16
- The Northwest Territories' program is regulated by the Apprenticeship, Trade, and Occupation Certification Act17
Most provinces and territories use the Red Seal examination as the final certification exam in designated Red Seal trades.18 Many employers only hire persons with this qualification to avoid varying standards among the provinces.19
External links
References
Canada, Employment and Social Development. "Red Seal Home / Red Seal". red-seal.ca. http://www.red-seal.ca/[email protected] ↩
"Search Ellis Chart". Ellis Chart. 2024-11-27. Retrieved 2025-01-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) https://www.ellischart.ca/eng/search/s.2.1rch.shtml ↩
"Red Seal Program". Red Seal Program. July 28, 2022. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://www.red-seal.ca/eng/trades/tr.1d.2s_l.3st.shtml ↩
"The Mobility and Qualification Recognition Working Group (MQRWG) website". 24 October 2017. http://www.workersmobility.ca/workers/ ↩
"RSPEI 1988, c A-15.2 / Apprenticeship and Trades Qualification Act". CanLII. http://www.canlii.org/en/pe/laws/stat/rspei-1988-c-a-15.2/latest/rspei-1988-c-a-15.2.html ↩
"Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act General Regulations - Apprenticeship and Trades Qualifications Act (Nova Scotia)". www.novascotia.ca. https://novascotia.ca/just/regulations/regs/atqgenrl.htm ↩
"SNL 1999, c A-12.1 / Apprenticeship and Certification Act". CanLII. http://www.canlii.org/en/nl/laws/stat/snl-1999-c-a-12.1/latest/snl-1999-c-a-12.1.html ↩
"Bill 43 - Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification Act". www.gnb.ca. http://www.gnb.ca/legis/bill/FILE/57/2/Bill-43-e.htm ↩
"CQLR c F-5 / Act respecting workforce vocational training and qualification". CanLII. http://www.canlii.org/en/qc/laws/stat/rsq-c-f-5/latest/rsq-c-f-5.html ↩
"Law Document English View". 24 July 2014. http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_09o22_e.htm#BK4 ↩
Justice, Manitoba. "Manitoba Laws". web2.gov.mb.ca. https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/statutes/ccsm/a110e.php ↩
"Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Act" (PDF). http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/English/Statutes/Statutes/A22-2.pdf ↩
"Apprenticeship and Industry Training Act" (PDF). http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Acts/A42.pdf ↩
"Industry Training Authority Act". bclaws.ca. http://www.bclaws.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/03034_01 ↩
"Trade and Occupations Certification Act" (PDF). http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/pdf/acts/apprent_trade_occ_cert.pdf ↩
"RSY 2002, c 7 / Apprentice Training Act". CanLII. https://www.canlii.org/en/yk/laws/stat/rsy-2002-c-7/71426/rsy-2002-c-7.html ↩
"Apprenticeship, Trade, and Occupation Certification Act" (PDF). http://www.justice.gov.nt.ca/pdf/acts/apprent_trade_occ_cert.pdf ↩
"Red Seal Program - About". http://www.red-seal.ca/about/pr.4gr.1m-eng.html ↩
"Industry / Red Seal". red-seal.ca. Archived from the original on 2009-09-05. https://web.archive.org/web/20090905182625/http://www.red-seal.ca/[email protected]?cid=28 ↩