Careers · Apprenticeships
Want to be an electrician?
It is a genuinely good career — a skilled, licensed trade you get paid to learn, and one Greater Sudbury keeps needing. Here is how the Ontario apprenticeship actually works, where to start locally, and an honest answer on whether we can take someone on right now.
NCP is closed to applications
We’re at our journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio right now, so we can’t take on another apprentice until the crew grows.
How it works in Ontario
Five years, mostly paid, one real gate
Electrician is a compulsory trade in Ontario — you have to be registered to do the work legally. The path is well-defined, and the hard part is not the studying.
- 01
Finish school — or get close
Most in-school levels expect a Grade 12 education or equivalent, and you will lean on math and physics more than people expect. Still in high school? OYAP lets you start earning apprenticeship hours before you graduate.
- 02
Find a sponsor
This is the real gate. An apprentice needs a licensed contractor willing to sponsor and train them — you cannot register on your own. Once you have one, you and the sponsor sign a Registered Training Agreement with Skilled Trades Ontario.
- 03
Work the hours
The 309A trade totals 9,000 hours — about five years. Roughly 8,160 of those are paid, on-the-job hours with your sponsor; you are earning the whole way through, not paying tuition for five years.
- 04
Go to school in blocks
The other 840 hours are in-school levels, done in blocks away from the job. Cambrian College delivers the electrician levels right here in Sudbury, so you do not have to leave the city to train.
- 05
Certify
Finish your hours and levels and Skilled Trades Ontario issues a Certificate of Apprenticeship. Pass the certifying exam and you hold a Certificate of Qualification — a licensed electrician, with Red Seal recognition across Canada.
Hours and requirements per Skilled Trades Ontario · Electrician (Construction & Maintenance) 309A. Always confirm current details with STO.
Why shops say “no room”
The ratio, explained
Ontario limits how many apprentices a contractor can have relative to licensed journeypersons — starting at one-to-one for a small shop. It exists so every apprentice actually gets supervised and taught by a qualified electrician instead of being used as cheap labour.
The practical effect: a small, busy, well-run shop can be turning work away and still have no room for an apprentice until it hires another licensed electrician. That is exactly where we are right now. If a shop tells you they are at their ratio, it is not a brush-off.
Where to start
The links that actually matter
Official sources and local training — not a middleman. These are the pages we would send our own kid to.
Skilled Trades Ontario — Electrician (309A)
The official trade page: requirements, hours and how registration works. Start here.
Skilled Trades Ontario — become an apprentice
Registering, Registered Training Agreements, and the Public Register of certified tradespeople.
Cambrian College — apprenticeships
Your local in-school training in Sudbury. They deliver the electrician levels here.
OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program)
Still in high school? Start earning apprenticeship hours toward the trade before you graduate.
ApprenticeSearch.com
A free service that helps match apprentices with sponsoring employers across Ontario.
Ontario.ca — apprenticeship funding
Grants, loans and financial supports available to registered apprentices in Ontario.
Common questions
Apprenticeship questions
01 Is NCP taking apprentices right now?
Not at the moment. We’re at our journeyperson-to-apprentice ratio right now, so we can’t take on another apprentice until the crew grows. Ontario sets journeyperson-to-apprentice ratios — a shop has to have the licensed electricians on staff to properly train and supervise each apprentice, and we are at that limit. It is a crew-size rule, not a comment on anyone applying. This page is kept current, so it is worth checking back.
02 Why do electrical shops go “closed” to apprentices?
Ontario regulates how many apprentices a contractor can have relative to licensed journeypersons — it starts at one-to-one for a small shop's first apprentices. That protects the quality of training: every apprentice is supposed to have a qualified electrician actually supervising and teaching them. So a small, busy shop can be doing well and still have no room until it hires another licensed electrician.
03 Do I need to find an employer before I register?
Yes, and it surprises a lot of people. You cannot register as an apprentice on your own — you need a sponsor first. A licensed contractor agrees to employ and train you, then you sign a Registered Training Agreement together with Skilled Trades Ontario. Finding the sponsor is the hard part; the paperwork after it is straightforward.
04 Do apprentices get paid?
Yes. An apprenticeship is a job, not a school program — the large majority of the 9,000 hours are paid, on-the-job hours. Wages rise as you move up through the levels. We do not publish rates here because they vary by employer, by level and over time, so ask any shop directly rather than trusting a number on a website.
05 Is electrical a compulsory trade in Ontario?
Yes. Electrician is a compulsory trade, which means you must be a registered apprentice or hold a Certificate of Qualification to legally do the work. That is also why anyone hiring an electrician can look them up on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register — and why you should.
06 What is the difference between 309A and 442A?
309A is Electrician (Construction and Maintenance) — the general path, and the one most people mean. 442A is Industrial Electrician, weighted toward plants, mines and heavy industry. Both are compulsory trades with Red Seal recognition. Around Sudbury the industrial side is a real career, and a lot of our own work sits there.
Not right now
Worth checking back.
We are not taking apprenticeship enquiries while we are at our ratio, so please do not send one just yet — we would rather say that plainly than leave you waiting on a reply. This page is kept current, and the resources above are the right next step either way.