Automotive Technician Foundation Certificate at British Columbia Institute of Technology in Burnaby, Canada is a foundation in Trades programme. The programme runs for 30 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 4,700 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Foundation
Field:Trades
Duration: 30 weeks
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 4,700 / total
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This 30-week, full-time foundation certificate introduces students to automotive repair, covering engine systems, electrical and electronic diagnostics, brake and suspension systems, and general vehicle maintenance through a blend of on-campus and online instruction at the Burnaby campus. Classes run on weekday mornings, with intakes in February, April, and July. Graduates are credited with the first level of Automotive Service Technician apprentice training and 450 work-based hours toward their time in trade with SkilledTradesBC, which allows direct advanced placement into Term 2 of BCIT's Automotive Service Technician and Operations diploma. The program is designed for people with no prior formal automotive qualifications who want a structured entry point into the trade, typically moving on to dealership or repair-shop trainee roles before progressing through apprenticeship toward full certification. It is a domestic-only program and is not available to international students.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: The Automotive Technician Foundation certificate requires Category 3 English (English Studies 12 at 50% or equivalent, or the BCIT English Trades Entry Assessment) and one math course from Foundations of Math and Pre-Calculus 10 at 50%, Workplace Math 10 at 50%, another acceptable BC/Yukon course, or the BCIT Math Trades Entry Assessment. Once enrolled, students must pass every course at a minimum of 70%. High school graduation is recommended by SkilledTradesBC but not required; a driver's licence is strongly recommended for moving shop vehicles, and a criminal record check is required for students attending a high-school site. This program is not available to international students.
Application Details
Start Date:February, April and July
Application Deadline:BCIT publishes common credential application dates for most cohort-based diplomas, degrees and Flexible Learning routes, though each program's own page governs: for the January 2027 intake domestic applications run 1 February 2026 to 2 January 2027 and international to 1 November 2026; for the April 2027 intake domestic runs 1 May 2026 to 1 April 2027 and international to 1 February 2027; for September 2027 domestic applications open 1 October 2026 and close 1 September 2027, international 2 July 2027. Openings are 9:00 am and deadlines 11:59 pm Pacific Time, moving to the next business day on a weekend. Admission is not institute-wide rolling, but many programs work first-qualified-first-accepted and can fill before the posted deadline, and several programs, mostly in Health Sciences, trades and graduate studies, run entirely separate application tables of their own. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
