Elevator Mechanic

Install and maintain elevators and escalators. Job Bank's median of $45 an hour is one of the highest of any trade, and it is one of the hardest to get into.

Typical pay: $94,000a year
Time to qualify: 4 to 6 yearspaid while you train, from day one
Demand: Moderate
Licence needed: Yesregulated job

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How to start as an elevator mechanic in Ontario

An apprenticeship: you are hired by a sponsor, paid while you learn on the job, and go to class for a few weeks at a time. Every fact here is from Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) and the Ontario government. See every Ontario trade side by side

Elevating Devices Mechanic (trade 636E)

Licence to work

Not needed, but the certificate helps

Red Seal

No: a Ontario certificate

Training

8,000 hours, about 720 in class

To start

Grade 12, age 16 or older

You are paid from your first day. Over the 7,280 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $130,676 before tax while you train, and most sponsors pay more as your skills grow.

Before you start: Must hold a TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) certificate as an elevating device mechanic in training, class T, under O. Reg. 222/01.

The trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's site(opens in a new tab)

The steps

Check you can start: you are at least 16, allowed to work in Canada, and have the school grade the trade asks for.
Find a sponsor: an employer, or a group of employers such as a union, that will train you. This is the step most people find hardest.
Apply to Skilled Trades Ontario: online if you are 18 or older, on a paper form a parent signs if you are 16 or 17. Your sponsor signs too.
Sign your training agreement. You get a wallet card to carry at work, and your skills are signed off in a logbook as you learn them.
Work and go to class. Most of the time is paid work; every year or so you spend 8 to 12 weeks in class at a college. Where the trade has an exam, you write it at the end.

Starting an apprenticeship, from STO(opens in a new tab)

Where sponsors come from

Your guidance counsellor, and the youth apprenticeship, Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) or dual credit programs at your school. Source (opens in a new tab)
Employment Ontario: over 700 offices with free one-on-one help, and it matches apprentices with sponsors (1-800-387-5656). Source (opens in a new tab)
Job Bank's apprenticeship job search for Ontario. Source (opens in a new tab)
Unions and trade associations for the trade, college career centres and local companies. Source (opens in a new tab)

Still in high school? In Grade 11 or 12, with at least 14 credits and age 15 or older, you can start an apprenticeship through co-op placements and earn credits at the same time. Ask your school's OYAP recruiter, guidance counsellor or co-op teacher. Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP)(opens in a new tab)

Not ready to find a sponsor? Free pre-apprenticeship programs (up to a year at a college or community agency, tools and books covered, with a work placement) get you ready and in front of employers. Employment Ontario helps you apply. Pre-apprenticeship training(opens in a new tab)

The money

Ontario sets no percentage of full pay for apprentices. Your sponsor agrees your wage with you, and it can never be below the minimum wage: $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026. Source (opens in a new tab)

Employment Insurance (EI) in class (opens in a new tab): You may get EI while you are away from work in class. Your college seat letter gives you the EI reference code to apply. Government of Canada page (opens in a new tab)
Apprentice Development Benefit (opens in a new tab): Up to $500 a week while in class if you do not get EI or it is below $500, plus travel and childcare help.
Ontario Tools Grant (opens in a new tab): $400 to $1,000, depending on the trade, after your first level of class and a year registered.
Ontario Apprenticeship Completion Bonus (opens in a new tab): $2,000 when you finish a trade that is not Red Seal.

Where to study to become an elevator mechanic in Canada

Programs in the fields this career usually comes through. Each has its own page: what it takes to get in, the courses you need and what it costs.

Colleges

Every university, each on its own page · Every college

Compare where to study thisOntario colleges side by side for skilled trades Compare with other careersPay, time, cost, the path in and the pros and cons, side by side

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Quick answers

How much does an elevator mechanic make in Canada?

The median pay is about $94,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $46,000 at the lower end to about $141,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.

How long does it take to become an elevator mechanic in Canada?

4 to 6 years, on the usual route, and you are paid while you train from the first day.

What does it cost to become an elevator mechanic?

$1,400 to $4,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.

Do you need a licence to work as an elevator mechanic in Canada?

Yes. It is a regulated job, so you need a licence or registration before you can work.

What is the job outlook for an elevator mechanic in Canada?

Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.

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Elevator Mechanic salary in Canada

What you earn and what it costs to get there.

What elevator mechanics make

Median

$94,000

Lower end

$46,000

Upper end

$141,000

Job Bank puts the trade at $22 to $68 an hour, with a median of $45, about $94,000 a year at 40 hours a week. Union contracts set the rate for many mechanics.

You earn while you learn

A share of the mechanic rate

Apprentices are paid a percentage that rises in steps as they log hours

Job Bank does not publish apprentice rates. Your union local's contract sets the steps.

Where pay is highest

$55.62 an hour

The median in Alberta, the highest of any province

British Columbia follows at $52.50 and New Brunswick at $49.48. Nova Scotia's median is the lowest, at $41.19. Overtime, on-call and shift premiums come on top.

What it costs to get there

Union apprenticeship classes: Covered through the union and employer training fund. You pay little or nothing
Tools: $1,000 to $2,500, usually from a tool list the employer gives you
Licence exams and renewal: In Ontario, TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) charges fees to register, to sit the exam and to renew. The licence renews every 2 years and needs at least 12 hours of accredited training each cycle
Loans and EI (Employment Insurance): Canada Apprentice Loan up to $4,000 per school block, with no interest charged, and EI (Employment Insurance) if your program uses full-time school blocks

Roughly, all in

$1,400 to $4,000

Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel

Union apprenticeship classes are covered through the employer and union training fund, so there is almost no tuition to find. The low end is a basic tool kit plus the registration and exam fees. The high end is a fuller tool kit from the list your employer gives you, the same fees, and the accredited training the licence needs each renewal cycle. In Ontario the licence renews every two years and needs at least 12 hours of training, and the real cost of this career is time: getting accepted can take years of applying while you work another job.

The main cost is time: getting accepted can take years of applying while you work another job.

Benefits

Defined-benefit pension
IUEC (International Union of Elevator Constructors) locals run a strong pension plus a savings plan.
Full health, dental and vision
Company vehicle and phone
Service mechanics drive a company van between buildings.
Job security
Elevators must be maintained by law, in every economy.

How to become an elevator mechanic in Canada

The exact path from high school to qualified.

The path to becoming an elevator mechanic, step by step

A 4-year union apprenticeship plus a provincial licence. The hard part is getting in.

1
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with math and physics. Many successful applicants also have an electrical or mechanical college program or trade experience.
2
Apply to the union
Months to years
IUEC (International Union of Elevator Constructors) Local 50 serves the Greater Toronto Area; other locals cover the rest of Canada. Intakes open rarely, draw far more applicants than spots, and include an aptitude test and interview.
3
Register as a mechanic in training
Days
In Ontario you take a safety workshop from an accredited trainer, then register with TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) as an EDM-T (elevating devices mechanic in training), and with Skilled Trades Ontario as an apprentice.
4
Work and study
4 years
8,000 hours in Ontario: 7,280 on the job with an elevator company plus 720 hours of classroom training, delivered through the union's own course modules in the evenings or in blocks. Installation, hydraulics, motors, controls, wiring and safety codes.
5
Licence
After your hours
Pass the TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) provincial knowledge exam to hold the EDM-A (elevating devices mechanic, class A) licence in Ontario. Skilled Trades Ontario has no certifying exam for this trade; the TSSA exam is the gate. Other provinces license through their own safety authorities.

High school courses that help you become an elevator mechanic

Math
Electrical and load calculations.
Physics
Motors, counterweights, hydraulics and electricity.
Electrical or shop technology
Elevators are mostly electrical work today.
Computer technology
Modern controllers are computers you diagnose with a laptop.

Time and money, at a glance

Years to licence: 4, plus however long it takes to get in
Admission: Union intake with aptitude test and interview. Far more applicants than spots
Total out of pocket: About $1,400 to $4,000
Paid while training?: Yes, at union rates from day one

Licensed by law, not a Red Seal trade

In Ontario only a TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) licensed elevating devices mechanic, or a registered mechanic in training under one, may install, alter or repair elevators, escalators and lifts. Skilled Trades Ontario lists the trade as non-compulsory; the legal gate is the TSSA licence under the Technical Standards and Safety Act. Elevator mechanic is not a Red Seal trade, so moving provinces means applying to that province's safety authority, for example Technical Safety BC (British Columbia), or Alberta, where elevator constructor is a compulsory certification trade. They usually credit your licence and hours but may require an exam.

Quebec routeIn Quebec? The route is different. 2 more cards.

The path in Quebec

In Quebec the training comes first as a full vocational diploma at one school, and the CCQ (Quebec construction commission) controls the apprenticeship.

1
Secondary V, or Secondary IV at 16
From age 16
You need a high school diploma, or be 16 with Secondary IV language, second language and math.
2
DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in Elevator Mechanics (5337)
About 17 months
1,800 hours at the École des métiers du Sud-Ouest-de-Montréal, the only school listed. An English version (5837) exists, but no English group was listed for 2026.
3
Apprentice competency certificate
Weeks
From the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec). You need the DEP, an employer registered with the CCQ who guarantees 150 hours of work within 3 months, the site safety course and a $100 fee.
4
Five periods of 2,000 hours
10,000 hours
10,000 apprentice hours in all, installing and repairing elevators, escalators and similar systems. Part of your DEP hours count toward them.
5
Provincial qualification exam
End of apprenticeship
Pass it and you become a journeyperson (compagnon) with a journeyperson competency certificate.

Elevator work in Quebec by the numbers

Active elevator mechanics, 2025: 1,341
Companies that hired them, 2025: 97
New apprentices, 2025: 78
Hourly rate under the collective agreements, August 2026: $26.47 to $56.70
Journeyperson average pay, 2025 (500 or more hours worked): $116,175 a year

Figures from the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec) trade sheet for 2026. The average pay includes overtime and premiums. Women entering the trade do not need the 150 hour job guarantee.

What helps you get ahead as an elevator mechanic

Things you don't need, but that help.

Paths within the trade

Adjuster
The mechanic who makes a newly installed elevator ride perfectly and pass inspection. One of the most skilled jobs in the trade.
Modernization
Replacing 30-year-old controls and machines in existing buildings. Steady work in older cities.
Escalators and moving walks
Malls, transit stations and airports. A specialty within the trade.
Supervisor or inspector
Elevator companies and TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) both hire experienced mechanics off the tools.

Nice-to-haves

An electrical or electronics background
Electrician apprentices and electronics graduates have an edge at intake.
Comfort with heights and tight spaces
You work on top of the car in the hoistway and down in the pit.
A clean driving record
Service mechanics drive all day.
Patience with the waiting
Most people apply more than once. Working another trade in the meantime is the usual plan.

Side path: construction versus service

Construction mechanics install new elevators in towers as they go up: heavy rigging, hoistway work, a new site every few months. Service mechanics have a route of buildings, do monthly maintenance, and answer breakdown and entrapment calls, sometimes at night. Many start in construction, then move to a service route when they want steadier hours and a home base.

What being an elevator mechanic is really like

Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.

What an elevator mechanic does day to day

Service route: a van, a phone and 20 to 40 buildings. Monthly maintenance on each: ride the car, check the door operators, brakes and ropes, oil the guides, test the safeties, note anything wearing. Between visits, calls: a car stuck between floors with someone inside, a door that will not close, an escalator that stopped. Construction site: setting rails in an empty hoistway from a scaffold or the top of the car, hanging the machine, wiring the controller, then adjusting the ride. Cramped, high and electrical.

The honest pros and cons of being an elevator mechanic

The good

One of the highest Job Bank medians of any trade, $45 an hour, with a strong pension
Legally protected work: elevators must be maintained by licensed mechanics
Mix of mechanical, electrical and computer skills, never boring
Steady in any economy: old buildings need service even when new ones stop

The hard parts

Extremely hard to get in; you may apply for years
On-call nights and weekends on service, and people trapped in cars are stressed
Heights, moving machinery and live electrical every day
The volume of work is in big cities, Toronto above all

Work life

Typical hours: 40 a week, plus on-call and overtime
Remote work: None
Physical demand: High
Unionized: Almost always

Similar paths

Things nobody tells you about being an elevator mechanic

Things people don't tell you.

A small, young trade

Job Bank counted only about 6,000 elevator constructors and mechanics in Canada in 2023, and just 16% were 50 or older. It expects demand and supply to stay roughly in balance through 2033.

Seven kinds of licence

Ontario's TSSA (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) issues seven classes of elevating device certificate, from the full mechanic licence to construction hoists, cab renovations and lifts for people with disabilities. Every one is renewed every 2 years with at least 12 hours of training.

How an elevator mechanic compares

Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.

More skilled trades careers in Canada

Industrial and mechanical first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.

Where these numbers come from

Last checked October 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. How every figure on this site is sourced and checked.