Outboards, sterndrives and boat systems. A short apprenticeship and a summer spent at the marina.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Certified technician
$62,000
1st-year apprentice
$42,000
Senior tech or service manager
$83,000
Job Bank's national median is $30 an hour, about $62,000 a year full time. Job Bank pools marine technicians with recreation vehicle technicians in one group, so treat it as a close estimate. Those are full-year numbers: marinas that close for winter cut the yearly total.
$20 to $22 an hour
First-year apprentice, about $42,000 a year
You start on rigging new boats, winterizing, shrink-wrapping and oil changes. Coastal BC and the Great Lakes have the most marinas and the most jobs.
$38 to $40 an hour
About $83,000 a year for a senior technician
Summer is flat-rate season and the hours are long. Big dealers, commercial fishing fleets and yacht service on the coast pay the most.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
You are paid while you learn, so the cost is the in school blocks, your tools and the Certificate of Qualification exam. The low end is cheaper block fees and a starter tool set built up gradually. The high end is higher block fees and buying good tools sooner. The Canada Apprentice Loan covers up to $4,000 a block interest free and EI (Employment Insurance) covers the school blocks and, in a lot of shops, the winter layoff. Tools keep costing money after you qualify, often $10,000 or more across a career.
You are paid while you learn. EI (Employment Insurance) covers school blocks and, for some, the winter layoff.
Staff pricing on boats, motors and gear
Manufacturer training
Mercury, Yamaha, Volvo Penta and Bombardier Recreational Products train dealer techs for free.
Health and dental
At larger dealers and year-round coastal operations.
Seasonal rhythm
Long summers, quiet winters, if you can budget for it.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A short apprenticeship, about 2.5 years in Ontario. Voluntary everywhere.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Shop, math and physics. Boating experience helps a lot. OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) can start you early.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
Marinas and boat dealers hire in spring. Start as a yard hand or rigger if you have to.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
Skilled Trades Ontario calls it Marine Engine Technician (435B). Alberta covers it under Outdoor Power Equipment Technician, Recreational Equipment branch.
Work and study
2 to 3 years
Ontario: 5,000 hours, 4,280 on the job plus 720 in school. Alberta: 3 periods of 1,000 hours with 6 to 8 weeks of class each.
Certificate of Qualification
After your hours
Pass the provincial exam. It is not a Red Seal trade, so the ticket is provincial.
Shop or transportation technology
Small engines and electrical.
Math
Gear ratios, fuel mixes, electrical loads.
Physics
Engines, propellers and electricity.
Boating licence
The Pleasure Craft Operator Card. You will water-test what you fix.
No province requires a licence to fix boat engines. Ontario and Alberta both offer a certificate at the end of the apprenticeship, but it is voluntary. Dealers still want it, and manufacturer certifications from Mercury, Yamaha and others matter as much as the provincial ticket because warranty work depends on them.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Manufacturer master technician
Mercury, Yamaha and Volvo Penta run tiered programs. Master level means top shop pay.
Marine electrical
Batteries, chargers, electronics and helm networks. The scarcest skill at any marina.
Diesel and inboard
Larger yachts and commercial boats. Year-round work on the coasts.
Powersports and small engines
Snowmobiles and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) fill the winter.
Driver's licence and trailer experience
Boats move by trailer.
Own tools
Shops notice.
Fibreglass and gelcoat basics
Small hull repairs come with the job.
Swimming and comfort on the water
Sea trials are part of every repair.
On the BC coast and in Atlantic Canada, commercial fishing boats, ferries and yachts keep marine mechanics busy all year. In Ontario cottage country and the Prairies, the season runs April to October and many shops lay off or cut hours in winter. Pick your region with that in mind.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
May: boats coming out of storage, spring commissioning, impellers, lower unit oil, battery checks, and new boats to rig with motors and electronics. July: a customer's outboard died on the lake, tow it in, diagnose a fuel problem, water-test it. Long days in the heat. October: winterizing and shrink-wrapping by the dozen. January: quiet, or snowmobiles if the dealer sells them.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
Canada has more coastline than any other country, plus the Great Lakes and millions of inland lakes. That is a lot of outboards, and every one needs a mechanic sooner or later.
Bombardier Recreational Products of Valcourt, Quebec builds Sea-Doo personal watercraft and Rotax marine engines. Its dealers across Canada need technicians certified on its products.
Ontario's Marine Engine Technician apprenticeship is 5,000 hours, about 2.5 years, compared with more than 7,000 hours for an automotive service technician. The trade-off is a lower pay ceiling and a seasonal calendar.
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.