Fix fridges, washers, dryers and stoves in people's homes. A Red Seal trade with a van and steady calls.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Certified technician
$59,000
Apprentice or trainee
$42,000
Gas-certified or self-employed
$87,000
Job Bank groups this job under gas appliance repairers. Its national median is $28.13 an hour, about $59,000 a year full time. Technicians with a gas ticket and those who run their own service business sit at the top.
$20 to $23 an hour
Apprentice or trainee riding along with a senior technician
About $42,000 to $48,000 a year. Manufacturer service divisions and big retailers start higher than small independent shops.
$38 to $42 an hour
About $79,000 to $87,000 a year
Adding a gas technician certificate lets you service gas stoves, dryers and furnaces, which pays more. Self-employed technicians charging a service call fee plus labour can earn more, with more risk.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
You are paid throughout the apprenticeship, so the low end is an employer that covers the in school levels while you buy a meter and hand tools and pay the Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal exam. The high end is paying for all three school levels yourself, a fuller tool kit, and the optional gas technician courses, which open up more work. Most technicians finish with no debt, which is unusual for a trade that pays this well.
You are paid throughout the apprenticeship, so most technicians finish with no debt.
Company van, phone and parts
Standard once you run your own route.
Health and dental
At manufacturers, retailers and larger service companies.
Commission or bonus per call
Some employers pay per completed job on top of a base wage.
Manufacturer training
Brands train technicians on their own products, often at their expense.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
An apprenticeship, shorter than most trades, plus an optional gas ticket.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Math, physics and a shop or electronics class. A driver's licence is essential.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
Appliance service companies, retailers and manufacturer service divisions take on apprentices. Many hire helpers first and register them later.
Register and train
About 3 years
In Ontario, Appliance Service Technician (445A) is 6,000 hours: 5,280 on the job and 720 in school over three levels. Other provinces run similar programs.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the provincial exam and add the Red Seal endorsement, recognized in nine provinces and territories.
Optional gas certificate
6 months to 2 years
In Ontario, a TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) gas technician certificate, G3 first and then G2, lets you work on gas appliances. Other provinces have their own gas tickets.
Physics
Electricity, motors and refrigeration cycles.
Electronics or computer technology
Modern appliances are circuit boards with a drum attached.
Math
Reading wiring diagrams and measuring voltages.
English
You explain problems and prices to customers in their kitchens.
Appliance Service Technician is a non-compulsory trade in Ontario and most provinces: you can work without a certificate, though the Red Seal, in place since 1994, helps you get hired and move between provinces. Gas is different. Touching a gas stove, dryer or furnace requires a gas technician certificate in every province, issued in Ontario by TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority). Refrigerant work also needs an environmental awareness certificate.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Gas technician certificate
Opens gas ranges, dryers and water heaters. The biggest single pay step in this trade.
Refrigeration and air conditioning
Adding the refrigeration mechanic trade lets you service commercial coolers and heat pumps.
Commercial kitchen equipment
Restaurants pay well for fast repairs on ovens, dishwashers and walk-in coolers.
Your own business
A van, a phone and a good reputation. Many technicians go independent after a few years.
Driver's licence and clean abstract
You drive to every job.
Customer skills
You work alone in people's homes, so trust and clear explanations matter.
Electronics hobby
Fixing old gear at home builds the diagnostic instinct.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Check the day's route on your phone, load parts into the van and drive to the first call by 8am. A fridge not cooling, a washer that will not spin, a dishwasher leaking. Diagnose with a meter and the service manual, quote the repair, fix it if you have the part or order it and book a return visit. Four to eight calls a day, with driving in between. You write up each job and collect payment. Busy seasons are summer, when fridges fail in the heat, and the holidays.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Appliance Service Technician has Red Seal status in Alberta, BC, Ontario, the Atlantic provinces, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. The federal program describes the trade as repairing washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and central vacuum systems.
In Ontario you cannot skip levels: TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) requires a G3 certificate before you can write G2, and G2 before G1. Most appliance technicians stop at G2, which covers household appliances.
Experienced technicians often diagnose a washer or fridge from the sound it makes before they open it. A grinding pump, a clicking relay and a buzzing compressor each point to a different part.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.