Trades - Apprenticeship in Heavy Mechanical Trades: Apprenticeship is a trades - apprenticeship in Trades programme taught at North Island College in Courtenay, Canada. The programme runs for 10 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 1,100 per total for local students.
This program delivers the technical-training levels of the Red Seal heavy mechanical apprenticeship for students already sponsored by a SkilledTradesBC-registered employer, at the Campbell River campus with intakes across fall, winter and spring terms through 2028. Training runs through four levels of decreasing length — Level 1 at ten weeks, Level 2 at eight weeks, Level 3 at six weeks, and Level 4 at five weeks — with Level 4 branching into either the Heavy Duty Equipment Technician or Truck and Transport Mechanic specialization; the college also supports apprenticeship pathways in Transport Trailer Technician and the non-Red Seal Diesel Engine Mechanic trade. As with other harmonized apprenticeships, roughly 80 percent of training takes place on the worksite under a certified tradesperson and 20 percent in the classroom. On completing the required technical training and industry hours, apprentices write the SkilledTradesBC exam to earn their Certificate of Qualification. The program is limited to domestic applicants who are already employed and sponsored in one of these trades, and suits apprentices progressing through their classroom levels toward full certification as a heavy mechanical tradesperson.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission is restricted to registered apprentices: applicants must be registered as an apprentice with SkilledTradesBC and be employed by a company with at least one qualified journeyperson able to supervise their training. NIC's calendar sets no separate academic grade, language-test score, minimum GPA, portfolio or interview requirement beyond this sponsorship. The apprenticeship offers Fall, Winter and Spring intakes and is domestic applicants only. Applicants who previously applied within the last year and want a subsequent level use NIC's Apprentice Training Registration Form rather than a fresh application.
Application Details
Start Date:Fall, Winter and Spring
Application Deadline:North Island College's domestic applications open at the beginning of October each year for the following academic year; unlimited-entry programmes admit on a rolling, first-come-first-served basis with deadlines effectively at the term start (September 1, January 1 or May 1), while limited-entry programmes close earlier: the last Monday of August for a September start, the third Friday of December for a January start. International applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC; for the current cycle NIC has published deadlines of 1 May 2026 for September 2026 entry and 31 August 2026 for January 2027 entry, with no later 2027 intake deadline yet posted. Admission is otherwise rolling until seats fill. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
