Straighten, weld and rebuild crashed vehicles. Compulsory trade in Ontario, paid by insurance work.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Licensed repairer
$52,000
1st-year apprentice
$38,000
Senior tech, frame or aluminum specialist
$75,000
Job Bank puts most auto body technicians between $18.50 and $40 an hour. Big collision chains and dealership body shops pay the most. Painters, a separate trade, often earn a bit more than body techs. Small rural shops pay less.
$18 to $22 an hour
First-year apprentice
Higher at dealership body shops in Alberta and big cities. Many shops start you on prep and detailing.
$30 to $38 an hour
Licensed repairer, often on flat rate
Most collision work is paid for by insurance companies, and they negotiate the labour rate a shop can charge. That caps what shops can pay. Fast techs on flat rate earn more. Slow weeks and hidden damage pay less.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The apprenticeship is paid work, so the only tuition is the in school blocks, three of them over about four years. The low end is blocks at the cheap end, a basic tool kit built up slowly and the Certificate of Qualification exam. The high end is a fuller dent pulling and welding kit bought up front. The Canada Apprentice Loan is interest free and EI (Employment Insurance) is paid while you are in class, so the cash flow is easier than the totals suggest, but the federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025 and should not be counted on.
Tools cost less than in mechanical trades, but a good dent-pulling and welding kit adds up. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025.
Health and dental
Chains and dealership shops yes, small independents less often.
Respirator and safety gear supplied
Required by law for paint and body work.
Paid industry training
Aluminum and electric vehicle repair courses are usually employer paid.
Overtime after storms
Hail season fills every shop in Alberta.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A 4-year apprenticeship in Ontario, 3 in some provinces. Mostly on the job.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with shop, art or design, and math. OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) lets you start in Grade 11 or 12.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
Collision shops, dealership body shops and big repair chains. Walk in with a resume. Detailing or prep jobs are the usual way in.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
With Skilled Trades Ontario (trade code 310B), Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, SkilledTradesBC or your province's authority.
Work and study
3 to 4 years
Ontario requires 8,000 hours: 7,280 on the job plus 720 in school, taken in three blocks at a college.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the provincial exam. The Red Seal title is Auto Body and Collision Technician, valid across Canada.
Shop and technology
Welding and metalwork most of all.
Art or design
Colour, shape and an eye for straight lines matter.
Math
Measuring frames to the millimetre.
Chemistry
Paints, fillers and adhesives.
English
Estimates and insurance paperwork.
In Ontario you must be a registered apprentice or hold a Certificate of Qualification to do auto body and collision repair. Painting and refinishing is its own trade, Automotive Painter, which is voluntary in Ontario and has its own Red Seal, Automotive Refinishing Technician. Many people hold both tickets. Alberta also requires certification for auto body technicians.
Ontario
Centennial, Fanshawe, Conestoga, St. Clair College in Windsor.
Alberta
SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology), NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology).
British Columbia
BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology), Vancouver Community College.
Manitoba
Red River College Polytechnic.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Automotive Painter (a second trade)
Refinishing pays a bit more and lets you run a whole job start to finish.
Aluminum and high-strength steel repair
New vehicles use materials that need special welding and rivet bonding. Shops need certified techs to keep insurer approvals.
Electric vehicle safety training
High-voltage battery packs sit right where collisions happen.
ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) calibration
Cameras and radar sensors have to be recalibrated after a windshield or bumper. A growing, well-paid niche.
Estimator
Writing repair estimates for insurers. A desk role that can pay more than the floor.
Driver's licence
Steady hands and patience
Sanding is most of the job.
Pre-apprenticeship program
Makes shops more willing to sponsor you.
WHMIS (workplace hazardous materials) certificate
A cheap one-day course.
Welding basics
Even a high school course helps.
A small number of body techs restore classic cars or build custom paint jobs. It is slower, more creative and less insurance-driven, and the best shops charge by the hour with no book time. Getting there usually means years in collision repair first.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Start around 7:30am. Pull a damaged car into your bay, strip the bumper and fender, and check the estimate against what you actually find. Pull dents, weld in a new quarter panel, measure the frame on a laser bench. Skim filler, sand, prime. Hand it to the painter, then reassemble and line up every panel gap after paint. Two or three cars on the go at once.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
The June 2020 Calgary hailstorm caused about $1.2 billion in insured damage, one of the costliest disasters in Canadian history, and much of that was dented cars. Body shops booked months of work overnight.
Ford's full-size pickup switched to an aluminum body in 2015. Aluminum cannot be repaired with steel tools or welded the same way, so shops built separate clean rooms and retrained.
After spraying, a booth bakes the car at around 60 degrees Celsius for 30 to 40 minutes to cure the clear coat.
Radar, cameras and parking sensors live in bumpers and grilles. A cheap-looking bumper repair can include a $500 calibration.
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.