BC TradesRouteCareer Planning Suite
Apprentice welder working in a British Columbia trades training shop

British Columbia · Built by a parent, for parents

Welcome to BC TradesRoute, the trades as a learning pathway.I've walked this road with my daughter. Here's the map.

Here in BC, the trades are a genuine learning pathway: not a shortcut, but a rigorous apprenticeship with excellent teaching, real credentials, and a debt-free route to a university degree and leadership roles. It can start while your child is still in high school. I put everything I had to learn the hard way in one place: the legal bits, the money bits, the school bits, the safety bits. No jargon, no sales pitch. Just what I wish someone had handed me on day one.

Find your district coordinator See the university ladder

A note from the parent who built this

This site was built by a parent, for parents.

I'm not an agency and I'm not a government office. I'm a parent in British Columbia. My daughter joined a union at fifteen and started in shop-based work, welding and sheet metal, not a construction site; 16 is the general minimum age for site work in BC. She finished a program in Grade 12 and graduated with a high school diploma, money in the bank, membership in the local 280 union, and logged Skilled Trades hours and experience as a welder, electrician and sheet metal worker. Getting there was a scramble.

Here's the thing nobody warned me about: the moment your child starts a trade in high school, your family isn't dealing with one system anymore. You're standing in the middle of several at once: the school district, SkilledTradesBC (the province's apprenticeship regulator), a union, an employer, WorkSafeBC (the workers' compensation and safety agency), the tax system. Each one has its own forms, its own deadlines, its own person to call. None of them talk to each other. You do.

So I built the thing I needed back then. Everything here is written the way I'd explain it to you over coffee: what to do, when to do it, who to email. Take what's useful, ignore what isn't, and double-check the official details before you sign anything; the rules do shift.

The dual credit advantage: two credentials at once.

Through Youth TRAIN in Trades, your child takes a college foundation seat while still a secondary student. They earn graduation credits and Level 1 technical training at the same time.

Funding details

Start with a conversation

In high school, the path depends on the trade

There is no single grade-by-grade checklist that fits every student, because each trade has its own courses, entry points and timing. What works is talking to the two people who see it every day: your school counsellor, and the Career Programs team at the Vancouver School Board. They become your primary contact and your navigator. Go in with what your student is interested in and let them map the options around it.

The school counsellor

Course planning season, and any time the plan changes

Counsellors know the timetable, the graduation requirements and which technology education and career education courses your school actually runs this year. Bring the trade your student is curious about, not a finished plan.

Questions worth asking

  • Which trades-related courses does this school offer, and which are full already?
  • What math and science should we choose to keep options open for this trade?
  • How does Work Experience or a Capstone fit into the timetable?

VSB Career Programs

Before applications open, ideally a year ahead

The district Career Programs team runs Youth EXPLORE, Youth TRAIN and Youth WORK in Trades. They know which post-secondary partner delivers which program, what the intake dates are, and how a student with a job can turn it into a registered apprenticeship.

Questions worth asking

  • Which programs fit the trade my student is interested in?
  • What are this year's application dates and selection steps?
  • If my student is already working, can those hours be registered?
Open the counsellor meeting checklistContact VSB Career Programs

What is out there

Courses and programs to ask about

Offerings differ from school to school and from year to year, so treat this as a conversation starter rather than a menu. Ask the counsellor what runs at your school, and ask Career Programs what runs at the district level.

In the school timetable

Technology education shops
Woodwork and carpentry, metalwork and metal fabrication, welding, automotive and power technology, electronics and robotics, drafting and design, engineering.
Applied skills and design
Culinary arts and professional cook training, textiles, art metal and jewellery, media and digital design, information technology.
Career education
Career Life Education, Career Life Connections and the Capstone, Work Experience 12A and 12B, Youth Job Training placements.
Safety and industry tickets
BC Construction Safety Alliance SiteReady, first aid and other tickets some programs expect before a placement starts.

Through district Career Programs

Youth EXPLORE in Trades
A sampler. Students try several trades over a short program to work out which one holds their interest before committing to anything.
Youth TRAIN in Trades
A college foundation seat taken while still a secondary student, delivered by a post-secondary partner, returning both graduation credits and Level 1 technical training.
Youth WORK in Trades
Paid, part-time, registered apprenticeship work while in Grade 10, 11 or 12. Up to 16 graduation credits once the SkilledTradesBC agreement is signed.
Dual credit, non-trade
The same earn-both-credits idea in health care and technology fields, for students whose interest sits next to the trades rather than in them.
Work Experience and Job Training
Classroom learning paired with a real workplace placement, arranged through the school. Often the first step for a student who is not ready to choose a trade.

Program names, intakes and post-secondary partners change year to year. Confirm current offerings with VSB Career Programs.

Start here

A simple checklist for using this site

Work through these five steps in order. Each one links to the tool that covers it.

  1. 1

    Find your district coordinator

    Email the person who runs Youth TRAIN and WORK in your district.

    Open tool
  2. 2

    Check the university ladder

    See how a Red Seal turns into credits toward a degree.

    Open tool
  3. 3

    Use the union finder

    Match a trade to a local and compare union sponsorship with going it alone.

    Open tool
  4. 4

    Review the safety shield

    Know the BC age rules and the three legal rights before the first shift.

    Open tool

Tip: come back to this checklist each term. The legal and financial deadlines change by grade, and the union finder is useful once you know which trade your student is leaning toward.

Everything in here

What you can sort out on this site

Find the person who runs this in your district

A direct line into the Vancouver School Board with a ready-to-send meeting request.

Open

The counsellor meeting checklist

What to prepare, what to ask and what to do afterwards, for parents and students together.

Open

The stuff nobody tells you

SkilledTradesBC Apprentice ID, double-credit programs, tool discount strategy and WorkBC demand data.

Open

From a Red Seal to a degree

How a Red Seal converts into 60 credits at TRU and degree pathways at BCIT and UFV.

Open

Safety on the job

BC Section 3.22 orientation duties, WorkSafeBC coverage, the Three Rights and age-gate law.

Open

Trades terms, in plain language

A simple glossary of the jargon parents hear from schools, unions and employers.

Open

Everyone belongs on that site

BCCWITT mentorship, women's-cut CSA PPE, washroom standards and LGBTQ+ workplace protection.

Open

The money, and why a union helps

The Youth WORK in Trades scholarship, plus pension and benefits under a union sponsor.

Open

Which college your district works with

BCIT, VCC and UAPIC: the colleges the Vancouver School Board works with.

Open

Primary Trades

Four credentials that anchor BC's economy

Electrician

Construction Electrician: 4 levels of technical training, 6,000 hours.

High demand across residential, commercial and industrial builds.

Carpenter

Carpentry: 4 levels of technical training, 6,720 hours.

Backbone of BC's residential and mass-timber construction growth.

Plumber

Plumbing: 4 levels of technical training, 6,000 hours.

Consistently in BC's top in-demand certified trades.

Welder

Welder Level A/B/C: laddered credentials, 4,500 hours to Red Seal.

Portable Red Seal ticket; strong industrial and marine demand.

FAQ

Questions parents actually ask

Straight answers about the trades as a learning pathway, what apprenticeship feels like, and how you can help without taking over.

Ready to start?

Find your district coordinator

Every apprenticeship starts with one conversation. Use the district finder to find your Career Programs Coordinator and send a ready-to-use meeting request.

Find my coordinator Download parent checklist (PDF, opens a download)

Straight to the source

Vancouver School Board links

These go straight to the district's own pages. Program names and intake dates change year to year, so read the VSB page before you act on anything you find here.

Start here

The pages to read before you book a meeting.

The three trades routes

Explore, train, or work. Most students touch more than one of these.

Where this comes from

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from one of these. Rules and dollar amounts change, so check the original before you act on it.