Service and repair motorcycles, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. A Red Seal trade with long summers and quiet winters.
Click through it
Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Counsellors: send it to a student from your own email in one click.
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
You are paid from your first day. Over the 5,520 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $99,084 before tax while you train, and most sponsors pay more as your skills grow.
The trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's site(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)
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)
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.
The median pay is about $62,000 a year. Across everyone in the job it runs from about $42,000 at the lower end to about $83,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
3 to 4 years, on the usual route, and you are paid while you train from the first day.
$3,000 to $8,000 all in for tuition, fees, exams and kit. Living costs are not counted.
It depends where you work. You need a licence, certificate or registration in Alberta and Ontario. Elsewhere there is none to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Moderate demand nationally, from government outlook data. Demand varies by region, so check your area.
Or read the whole thing here
What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$62,000
Lower end
$42,000
Upper end
$83,000
Job Bank's range for motorcycle mechanics is $20 to $40 an hour, with a median of $30, close to car technicians ($29.89) but with a lower top end ($40 against $43.27). Those are full-year numbers: winter layoffs at motorcycle-only shops cut the yearly total. Flat rate is common, and some techs stack hours in summer and take winter layoffs on EI (Employment Insurance).
$32 an hour
The median in British Columbia, about $67,000 a year
Ontario is close behind at $31.55, and New Brunswick is the lowest at $26.87. Apprentices often start on setup and cleaning. Powersports dealers that also sell snowmobiles and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) keep you busier year-round.
Roughly, all in
$3,000 to $8,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
Apprenticeship is paid work, so there is no tuition to find and you earn from the start. The low end is school blocks at the cheaper rate, with Level 1 free in Ontario for classes from January 2026, and a starter tool set bought a piece at a time. The first certification exam try is free in Ontario once your apprenticeship is complete. The high end is full block fees plus several thousand dollars of tools while you are still an apprentice. Tools keep costing money for your whole career, and the federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025, though the Canada Apprentice Loan still charges no interest on up to 4,000 a block.
Same supports as any Red Seal trade. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant closed in March 2025. The new federal Red Seal Completion Bonus pays $5,000 if you finish your apprenticeship and get certified in a Red Seal trade on or after April 1, 2025. Applications open November 16, 2026.
Staff pricing on bikes, parts and gear
Health and dental
Larger dealerships only.
Seasonal rhythm
Long summer hours, quiet winters, if you can budget for it.
Manufacturer training
Honda, Harley-Davidson, Bombardier Recreational Products and others train dealer techs at their own cost.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A Red Seal apprenticeship. Ontario calls it Motorcycle Technician, and it is compulsory there.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with shop, math and physics. OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) can start you early.
Find a sponsor
Weeks to months
Motorcycle and powersports dealerships, independent shops, rental fleets. Show up in spring when they are hiring, and know how to ride.
Register the apprenticeship
Days
With Skilled Trades Ontario (trade code 310G), Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training, SkilledTradesBC or your province's authority.
Work and study
3 to 4 years
Ontario requires 6,000 hours: 5,520 on the job plus 480 in school. About 3 to 3.5 years.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Pass the exam. Motorcycle Technician is a Red Seal trade in Ontario, Alberta, BC (British Columbia) and the Atlantic provinces, so the ticket carries between them.
Shop or transportation technology
Small engines especially.
Math
Gear ratios, clearances, electrical values.
Physics
Engines, suspension and electricity.
Co-op at a dealership
The fastest way to a sponsor.
English
Work orders and warranty claims.
In Ontario you must be a registered apprentice or hold a Certificate of Qualification to work as a motorcycle technician. Alberta also requires certification or a registered apprenticeship. Most other provinces treat it as voluntary, but dealerships still want the ticket for warranty work. The Red Seal endorsement carries between the provinces that offer it: Ontario, Alberta, BC (British Columbia) and the Atlantic provinces.
Quebec is not part of the Motorcycle Technician Red Seal, so you train at a vocational centre first and can add a voluntary Quebec certificate on the job.
Secondary IV courses
From age 16
The DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) needs a high school diploma, or age 16 with Secondary IV language, second language and math. From 18, the general development test is another way in.
DEP 5367, recreational vehicle and light equipment mechanics
About 19 months
1,800 hours on motorcycles, scooters, all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, outboards and small engines. Offered in French in ten regions. The English version (5867) had no groups listed.
Dealer or shop job
Weeks to months
Motorcycle and powersports dealers hire graduates. Quebec's vocational training portal lists an average of $25.00 an hour for motorcycle mechanics.
Leisure vehicle technician certificate, if you want it
1 to 2 years
Your employer can enrol you in Quebec's workplace apprenticeship for leisure vehicle technician. You must be 16 and employed. It covers motorcycles, scooters, all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles.
Moving to another province
If you move
Motorcycle Technician is a Red Seal trade in Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and the Atlantic provinces, but not Quebec. Check how the province you move to treats Quebec training.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Powersports: snowmobiles, ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) and personal watercraft
Turns a seasonal job into a year-round one.
Automotive service technician (a second trade)
Adds cars to what you can work on.
Manufacturer certification
Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha and Bombardier Recreational Products training unlocks warranty work.
Small engine and marine
Outboards, generators and lawn equipment.
Suspension and performance tuning
Race teams and custom shops.
Motorcycle licence
You will road-test everything you fix.
Own tools and a project bike
Shops notice.
Pre-apprenticeship program
A few Ontario colleges run one.
Customer skills
Riders want to talk to their tech.
A few techs work for race teams or custom builders. It is the dream job for many. Most do it on the side while keeping a shop job.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Spring and summer: 8am start, a lineup of bikes waiting for tune-ups, tires, chains, valve adjustments and the odd engine rebuild. New-bike setup out of the crate on top of that. Long days in June are common at flat rate. Winter: layoffs, or snowmobiles and service on stored bikes if the dealer sells powersports.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
In Ontario you cannot legally work as a motorcycle technician without a registered apprenticeship or a certificate, because it is a compulsory trade there. The apprenticeship is 6,000 hours, about three and a half years.
BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products), based in Valcourt, Quebec, builds Ski-Doo snowmobiles, Sea-Doo watercraft and Can-Am vehicles. Its dealers need powersports techs across the country.
Motorcycle Technician has been a Red Seal trade since 1992 in Ontario, Alberta, BC (British Columbia) and the four Atlantic provinces. Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the territories are not part of it.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Vehicles and equipment first, then the rest of the field. See every career in skilled trades.
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.
Tell us about this page. A person reads every message.
No email app on this device? Use Gmail instead: report a mistake in Gmail or say what you like in Gmail.