To be an apprentice a candidate must find an employer who is able to take them on as an apprentice and then make sure to register with their local apprenticeship or trades authority. Apprenticeship combines paid, work-based training (roughly 80 percent) with technical training in a classroom or shop (roughly 20 percent). The trades known nationally as autobody and collision technician, automotive refinishing technician and automotive service technician are all Red Seal trades.
The Red Seal program allows qualified trades persons to practice in any province or territory in Canada where the trade is designated. Funding, programs and federal tax incentives are all available for employers so they can hire and train apprentices. Information about occupational standards and financial support for apprentices and businesses is available at red-seal.ca and canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/apprentices.html. This section lists organizations across Canada that offer apprenticeship training for auto body technician, automotive refinishing and automotive service trades.
| Training Provider | Course Name | Description | Category | Province/State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY | Automotive Service Technician Certificate (Foundation) – KWANTLEN POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY | Repairing customer vehicles in a fully operational auto repair shop. Shop safety, inspection, diagnostics, repair and servicing of mechanical, electrical and electronic systems for automobiles and light trucks. | Core Training | British Columbia |
| KEYANO COLLEGE | Welder – Apprenticeship – KEYANO COLLEGE | Graduates from the program will be skilled in the fusing of metals using prescribed welding applications; have a working knowledge of welding equipment; comprehend drawings and develop layout patterns for projects and calculate quantities of materials; ha | Apprenticeship | Alberta |
| I-CAR | RCY01 Recycled Parts for Collision Repair – I-CAR | Understand the automotive recycling industry and organizations. Describe the considerations for using and ordering recycled parts. Identify parts that are commonly recycled and those that are not. Determine if a part has been previously repaired. Understa | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM140V01 Developing the Team and the Business – I-CAR | Perform employee mentoring/coaching using various leadership models. Perform team member reviews using a management system. Co-ordinate team member training and safety-related needs. Communicate shop metrics to leadership team using a management system. M | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM125V01 Problem Solving for Workflow Changes – I-CAR | Assess workflow problems and evaluate work-in-progess for potential solutions. Determine technician workload. Determine staffing needs based on workflow problems and how to reassign technician work based on skill, OEM training and/ or availability. Manage | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM115E01 Workflow Essentials – I-CAR | Understand how supplements affect production, costs and staff by identifying missing items, time involved and repair or replace decisions for each job. Survey the shop floor using the quality control, roadblock, and parts status techniques taught in this | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM110V01 Matching the Repair to the Team – I-CAR | Identify staff capabilities and workload using a computer management system. Explain how to assign a job to an available technician or team. Perform estimate and vehicle reviews with assigned technician using shop SOPs. Communicate current job status usin | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM105E01 Before the Repair Starts – I-CAR | Demonstrate job file review processes. Explain insurance needs (including DRP and non-DRP). Identify express jobs using a checklist of express-related items. Demonstrate mappingof a customer vehicle. | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| I-CAR | PM101E01 Learning Culture Overview – I-CAR | Understand the importance of the I-CAR study observations. Describe an Industrial Age mind set and how to identify it. Apply the principles of knowledge management. Understand the definition, key principles and benefits of a learning culture. | Management & Estimating | Ontario |
| CAMBRIAN COLLEGE | Welding And Fabrication Technician (WFTN) – CAMBRIAN COLLEGE | Working in the college’s welding lab, you will take metal fabrication projects from the engineering drawing stage through cutting and forming processes to the welding and inspection phases. You will have unique opportunities to put your welding skills int | Welding | Ontario |
| BETAG | Panel Repair Steel – Level 1 – BETAG | This Medium Panel Repair program focuses on the core principles of straightening steel auto body panels, to a level of finish that requires minimal filler to complete a high-quality repair. These skills can be applied across a wide range of simple and mor | Non-Structural Repair | California |
| BETAG | Plastic Repair – Level 1 – BETAG | This Plastic Repair program focuses on developing the knowledge and skills necessary to repair plastic panels and parts properly and safely. It also includes modules to develop technicians’ awareness of the various ADAS systems that can be affected and st | Non-Structural Repair | California |
| BETAG | Small Damage – Level 2 – BETAG | This Small Damage Level 2 course is designed to elevate the skill level of technicians to enable them to successfully complete paintless dent repairs of elastic and plastically deformed small damages. These skills can be applied across a wide range of pan | Non-Structural Repair | California |
| BETAG | Small Damage – Level 1 – BETAG | Relevant to technicians of all experience levels, BETAG’s Small Damage Repair program starts by focusing on the fundamentals of metal repair. These include identifying the complete damage area; understanding the characteristics of plastic and elastic defo | Non-Structural Repair | California |
| BASF | Advanced Production Management VPU001 – BASF | This training teaches you to understand the concept, importance and benefits of increasing throughput, cycle time. Practise new techniques of production management, including how to manage the repair and to understand the need to write a complete damage r | Paint & Refinishing | Ontario |
| BASF | Estimating for Profit VPU002 – BASF | This training teaches you to understand the critical importance of the estimator. Learn to sell first, estimate second. Generate a complete damage report. Effectively negotiate with insurers. Understand how to measure selling performance. | Paint & Refinishing | Ontario |
