Offered by Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada, Entry Level Automotive Collision and Refinishing Certificate is a foundation in Upgrading/upskilling programme. The programme runs for 36 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 5,900 per total for local students.
This one-year certificate, delivered full-time over 36 weeks (1,080 hours) of day classes at the Kelowna Trades Complex, follows the Industry Training Authority's standards for Automotive Collision and Refinishing Level 1 and is aimed at people with little or no prior experience in vehicle body repair. The program builds practical shop skills in collision repair and refinishing preparation and includes a two-week work placement that introduces students to a real automotive repair shop and industry professionals before they graduate. On completion, students are credited with Level 1 apprenticeship technical training and either 625 work-based hours toward an Auto Body and Collision Technician apprenticeship or 450 hours toward an Automotive Refinishing Technician apprenticeship, letting graduates choose between two related Red Seal career paths in collision repair or automotive painting. Admission requires B.C. secondary school graduation or equivalent, or applicants who are 19 years of age and have been out of secondary school for at least one year. Intake is capped at 16 seats. The certificate suits career-starters seeking a foundation in collision repair before committing to a specific apprenticeship trade.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry to the Automotive Collision and Refinishing (foundation) program requires B.C. secondary-school graduation or the equivalent, or admission as a mature applicant at least 19 years of age and out of secondary school for at least one year as of the first day of classes. Academic prerequisites stated on the program page are English 10 with a minimum of 50 per cent (alternatives accepted per Okanagan College's published equivalency list) and mathematics: a minimum of 50 per cent in one of Mathematics 10, Apprenticeship and Workplace Mathematics 10, Workplace Mathematics 10, Foundations of Mathematics and Pre-Calculus 10, or Adult Basic Education MATH 071/072, or a minimum of 50 per cent on the College's Trades Entrance Assessment (TEA) mathematics test, valid for two years. An applicant whose qualifying math course is more than seven years old must write the TEA and score at least 50 per cent. No IELTS, TOEFL or other standardized English-proficiency test is stated; the language requirement is met through the secondary English course grade or its published equivalents.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC (a $30 CAD fee): Okanagan College sets no fixed closing date for most programmes in the 2026-27/2027-28 cycle. Applications for a Fall intake open at 8:30 a.m. on October's first business day of the preceding year, and for a Winter intake at 8:30 a.m. on February's first business day of the preceding year (exceptions apply); Practical Nursing's January intake opens at 9:00 a.m. on April's first business day of the preceding year. Most programmes accept applications until seats fill, though Nursing and Dental programmes set their own fixed or ranked deadlines on their own pages. International applicants also apply through EducationPlannerBC, paying a $100 CAD per-programme fee; the College publishes no institution-wide international closing date and directs applicants to each programme's own page. Admission is otherwise rolling. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
