Join metal with heat. A quick trade to start earning in, and the tickets matter more than the diploma.
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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 5,280 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $94,776 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)
You are paid from your first day. Over the 5,280 hours on the job, even at the minimum wage you would earn at least $94,776 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 $46,000 at the lower end to about $98,000 at the upper end. The source is listed under Sources at the end of this page.
1 to 3 years after high school, on the usual route.
$1,300 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 Quebec. Elsewhere there is none to hold, though many employers still ask for training or a certificate.
Limited 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
$46,000
Upper end
$98,000
Job Bank's national figures for welders, 2023 to 2024: a median of $30 an hour, about $62,000 a year at 40 hours a week, with a lower end of $22 and an upper end of $47 an hour: the bottom and top of the range for everyone in the group. Rig welders who own their truck run a business and are not counted in this wage figure.
At least 60% of a journeyperson's rate
Alberta's legal floor for a first-year apprentice welder
Alberta sets the floor at 60% in the first period, 75% in the second and 90% in the third, measured against the lowest paid certified welder at your company. In Ontario no share is set in law: your sponsor agrees your rate, and it can never be below the minimum wage. College graduates are hired at the employer's rate for new welders.
$48.29 an hour
The median in the Northwest Territories, the highest in Canada
Among the provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador ($38.41) and Alberta ($38) lead. Ontario and Quebec are both at $28, and Prince Edward Island is lowest at $25. These are Job Bank medians for 2023 to 2024.
Roughly, all in
$1,300 to $8,000
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is the Ontario apprenticeship route, which is paid work: about 800 dollars in classroom fees for the second and third school blocks (Ontario covers the first block from 2026) and a starter kit of helmet, jacket, gloves and hand tools. In Alberta the three school periods cost about 1,200 dollars each. The high end is a one year college welding program paid up front, a fuller kit, and paying for your own ticket tests. Employers often cover CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) ticket tests, the Canada Apprentice Loan lends up to 4,000 dollars a school block with no interest until you finish or leave, and EI (Employment Insurance) can replace some income while you are in class. The federal Apprenticeship Incentive and Completion Grants closed on March 31, 2025, so do not build a budget around them.
The federal Apprenticeship Incentive Grant and Apprenticeship Completion Grant closed on March 31, 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.
Union pension and benefits
The boilermakers, pipefitters and ironworkers unions all employ welders on industrial jobs.
Overtime at premium rates
Shutdowns and pipeline pushes run 10 to 12 hour days.
Travel and camp allowances
Remote sites pay a daily living-out allowance and often fly you in.
Own your rig
A welding truck is a business you can run yourself.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Two ways in. Both end with the same tickets.
High school diploma
Grade 12
Grade 12 with math and shop. Many high schools teach welding, and OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) lets Ontario students start apprentice hours in Grade 11 or 12.
Pick a route
Months
Route A: a 1-year college welding certificate, mostly shop time. Route B: find an employer and register a 3-year apprenticeship with your provincial trades authority.
Get your first CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) tickets
Weeks
Practical tests in each position (flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead) and each process. Employers check these, not your diploma.
Work and study
1 to 3 years
In Ontario the apprenticeship is 6,000 hours: 5,280 on the job plus 720 in school, taken as three college blocks of about 8 weeks. Alberta runs 3 periods, each 1,560 work hours plus 8 weeks of school. College graduates go straight to work and build hours.
Certificate of Qualification and Red Seal
After your hours
Optional in Ontario but worth it. The Red Seal endorsement lets you work in any province.
Math
Angles, fractions, and metric to imperial conversions all day.
Shop or technology classes
Welding and metalwork classes are a direct head start.
Physics
Heat, expansion and electricity are the trade.
English
Welding procedures and blueprints are documents you must follow exactly.
In Ontario and most provinces you do not need a licence to work as a welder. What employers require is a current CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) ticket for the process and position of the job, and most of those are valid for 2 years before you retest. In Alberta welder is a compulsory certification trade, so there you must be a registered apprentice or hold a journeyperson certificate. In Quebec, welding pipe on construction sites needs a competency certificate from the Quebec construction commission. The Red Seal is voluntary everywhere but is the easiest way to prove your level across provinces.
Ontario
Conestoga, Fanshawe, Georgian and Mohawk run 1-year welding certificates. Cambrian, Conestoga and Fanshawe also run 2-year welding technician diplomas.
Alberta
NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology), SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) and Red Deer Polytechnic.
BC (British Columbia)
BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology) and Okanagan College welding foundation programs.
Atlantic Canada
Nova Scotia Community College and College of the North Atlantic.
In Quebec you start with a vocational diploma, the trade certificate is voluntary, and welding pipe on construction sites needs a card from the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec, the Quebec construction commission).
Secondary IV courses
From age 16
The DEP (Diploma of Vocational Studies) in Welding and Assembly 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 in Welding and Assembly (5382, or 5882 in English)
About 17 months, 19 in English
1,800 hours of manual, semi-automatic and automated welding, at about 35 centres in French. It replaced the older Welding and Fitting DEP (5195) in 2025.
Add a specialty, if you want pipe work
About 6 months
The ASP (Attestation of Vocational Specialization) in High-Pressure Welding (5383, or 5883 in English) adds 645 hours of pipe welding. It replaced the older 5234 version in 2025.
Quebec qualification certificate, optional
About 2 years
Not required to work. You earn it through a workplace apprenticeship with a mentor, about 2 years if you start with no experience. With 5 years in the trade you can have your skills recognized instead.
Red Seal, if you want it
After the certificate
Welder is a Red Seal trade in Quebec. The interprovincial exam adds the Red Seal to your certificate, so other provinces recognize it.
On construction sites, pipe welder (soudeur en tuyauterie) is an occupation controlled by the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec, the Quebec construction commission). You need the High-Pressure Welding ASP (Attestation of Vocational Specialization), the CCGIC (the construction industry general knowledge course) and an occupation competency certificate. In 2025 there were 618 active pipe welders and 52 new entrants. Union rates in August 2026 were $47.85 to $50.87 an hour, and those who worked at least 500 hours averaged $92,373 in 2025. A separate class B pressure welding certificate, valid 2 years, helps if you want to work in Alberta.
Laurier Macdonald Vocational Centre, Montreal
English Montreal School Board.
Nova Career Centre, Montérégie
New Frontiers School Board, south of Montreal.
Construc-Plus, Laurentides
Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board.
Lennoxville vocational centre, Estrie
Eastern Townships School Board.
Brome-Missisquoi Campus, Cowansville
Eastern Townships School Board.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Pressure welding certification
Called the B pressure ticket in Alberta, where ABSA (Alberta Boilers Safety Association, the pressure equipment safety authority) keeps the register of certified welders. Each province runs its own. Opens refinery, boiler and pipeline work.
Pipeline tickets
Tested to CSA (Canadian Standards Association) pipeline standards, usually by the pipeline owner. Rig welders live off these.
Aluminum and stainless with TIG (tungsten inert gas) welding
Slower and cleaner: aerospace, food equipment, marine.
CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) welding inspector
Three levels. A path off the floor into inspection and quality control as your body ages.
Steady hands and good eyes
Welding is fine motor control for hours. Get your eyes checked.
Driver's licence
Field jobs mean driving to sites and moving equipment.
Fitting and blueprint reading
A welder who can also fit and lay out can take on more of the job.
Working at heights, confined space and WHMIS (workplace hazardous materials) certificates
Cheap day courses that industrial sites require.
In Alberta, Saskatchewan and BC (British Columbia) many welders put a welding machine on a pickup truck and contract themselves out to pipeline and oilfield jobs, billing one hourly rate for the truck and welder together. The rate covers the truck too, and the truck, machine, insurance and fuel cost a lot to set up, work dries up when oil prices fall, and you are a business owner with no paid vacation. Most rig welders spent years as an employee first.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
In a fabrication shop: 7am start, read the drawing, tack the pieces together on a table, weld out, grind, repeat, mostly MIG (metal inert gas) welding on steel. Loud, warm, standing all day. On a construction site: welding beams and connections, sometimes on a lift or scaffold, in whatever weather it is. On a shutdown or pipeline: 10 to 12 hour days, every weld checked by X-ray or ultrasound, then weeks off between jobs.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer puts welding fumes in Group 1, its list of things known to cause cancer in people. Stainless steel is worse, because its fumes can carry hexavalent chromium. Ventilation and a fitted respirator matter more than a tough attitude.
Most CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) tickets are good for 2 years, and only while you work for a CWB certified company. Go 3 months without using a process and that ticket can be revoked, no matter how long you have welded.
Welder is a Red Seal trade in all 13 provinces and territories. A Red Seal welder from Halifax can start in Fort McMurray without re-taking the trade exam, though the employer will still want a fresh CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) ticket.
In 2025, 17 women worked as pipe welders on Quebec construction sites: 2.1% of everyone active in that trade there.
Every list is built from the same numbers shown above, so you can see where this career sits next to the others.
Metal and machining 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.
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