Skilled trades & apprenticeship
What is your trade worth?
A certificate of qualification is worth up to 50 CRS points and can open the Federal Skilled Trades Program — which has one of the lowest language bars of any federal route. Find your trade, see the numbers, and see exactly which authority certifies you.
Read this before you count your points
IRCC only counts a certificate issued in Canada, by a provincial, territorial or federal authority. A trade certificate from India, the Philippines, the UAE or anywhere else earns zeroCRS points on its own, however senior you are. To convert it you go through that province's trade qualifier or equivalency assessment and pass their exam. That is the gap this page is here to close.
What is your trade?
Type how you'd describe your job — slang is fine. Try “welder”, “sparky”, “HVAC”, or your NOC code.
Who certifies you, province by province
British Columbia — SkilledTradesBC
Challenge a Certification Exam (as a Trade Qualifier) · $120 exam fee · formerly Industry Training Authority (ITA BC)
Alberta — Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT)
Trades Qualifier Programs
Ontario — Skilled Trades Ontario (STO)
Trade Equivalency Assessment (TEA) · $235 + HST (reassessment $100 + HST) · formerly Ontario College of Trades
Saskatchewan — Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC)
Trade Qualifier — International Application Process
Manitoba — Apprenticeship Manitoba
Trade Qualifier
Nova Scotia — Nova Scotia Apprenticeship Agency
Trade Qualification (Trade Qualifier)
New Brunswick — Apprenticeship and Occupational Certification (Skilled Trades NB)
Trade Qualification, or Equivalency Standards
Newfoundland and Labrador — Apprenticeship and Trades Certification Division (ATCD)
Trade Qualifier
Prince Edward Island — Apprenticeship Section, Department of Workforce, Advanced Learning and Population
Challenge the certification exam (no branded name)
Quebec — Ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale (MESS); Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) for construction
Reconnaissance de la formation et de l’expérience + examen de qualification · formerly Emploi-Québec
Northwest Territories — Apprenticeship, Trade and Occupation Certification (ATOC)
Trade Qualification (TQ) · $200 qualification exam
Yukon — Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Unit, Yukon Department of Education
Challenge the journeyperson Certificate of Qualification exam (no branded name) · $15
Nunavut — Apprenticeship Unit, Department of Family Services
Trade Qualification program
Ready to get certified?
Contact Newton Immigration today
We prepare and file your provincial trade qualifier application, assemble the evidence of your hours, and line it up with the immigration pathway that actually fits you. Talk to a licensed RCIC first — it costs you nothing to find out where you stand.
Newton Immigration Inc. · Licensed RCIC #R705964 · 13,000+ clients served
Trade and points information on this page reflects the rules as published in September 2026. IRCC consulted in April 2026 on restricting these points to Red Seal trades only and adding points for apprenticeship work — nothing is law yet. We update this page when the rules change; always confirm your own case with an RCIC.