Trades - Apprenticeship in Professional Cook 2: Apprenticeship - Institutional Entry is a trades - apprenticeship in Culinary Arts programme taught at North Island College in Courtenay, Canada. The programme runs for 14 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 1,200 per total for local students.
This program is the second of three levels in the Red Seal Professional Cook apprenticeship pathway, delivered part-time and in-person at the Campbell River campus over 14 weeks (420 hours) of technical training, with a winter intake. Alongside classroom and kitchen instruction, students must complete a further 1,000 hours of workplace experience, of which NIC credits 240 hours, as part of the roughly 5,000 workplace hours required across the full three-level pathway. Building on Professional Cook 1, the course develops menu creation, à la carte production and food presentation, front and back-of-house food and beverage service, advanced cooking techniques and event planning, kitchen equipment operation and safety, and culinary specialties such as garde manger, rôtisseur, pâtissier and entremetier work. The program is open to domestic applicants, with priority admission for Indigenous students, and assumes completion of Professional Cook 1. It suits cooks continuing toward Red Seal certification and roles such as sous chef, pastry cook or executive chef, or those planning to eventually operate their own food service business.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry requires holding Professional Cook 1 Certification in full: successful completion of Professional Cook 1 Technical Training, its Certificate of Qualification Examination and Practical Assessment, plus a further 400 documented workplace hours on top of the hours already banked, for 1,000 total hours before starting Level 2. NIC's calendar sets no separate school grade, language-test score or minimum GPA for this institutional-entry apprenticeship level, and no portfolio or interview is required -- eligibility turns entirely on the completed Level 1 credential and hour count. The programme runs a Winter intake, is domestic applicants only, and the College notes that dates and classes may change or be cancelled depending on demand.
Application Details
Start Date:Winter
Application Deadline:This is a limited-entry program at NIC: for the 2026/27 cycle the application deadline is the last Monday of August for a September start, the third Friday of December for a January start, or five days before the start date for a mid-term intake; seats go by date of a complete, qualifying application.
