Offered by Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada, Welder Foundation Certificate is a foundation in Upgrading/upskilling programme. The programme runs for 28 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 4,700 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Foundation
Field:Upgrading/upskilling
Duration: 28 weeks
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 4,700 / total
Information for the 2027/28 academic year · Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This certificate is Okanagan College's entry-level, pre-apprenticeship program for welding, delivered full-time over 28 weeks (840 hours) with day or afternoon/evening options at the Kelowna, Penticton, and Salmon Arm campuses. It provides the technical training for Levels 1 and 2 of the welding trade along with 300 work-based hours, and graduates are eligible to write the Standardized Level Exam before continuing into Welder Apprenticeship Level 3 on the path to Red Seal certification. The program targets people with little or no previous welding experience who want to prepare for work as an apprentice or foundation welder. Admission requires BC secondary school graduation or equivalent, or being 19 or older, English 10 at a minimum 50%, and a mathematics requirement that can also be met with 63% on the Trades Entrance Assessment. The curriculum is organized around eight core areas: occupational skills, cutting and gouging, oxy-fuel welding and brazing, shielded metal arc welding, semi-automatic welding, gas tungsten arc welding, metallurgy, and reading weld drawings for fabrication.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Admission requires B.C. secondary-school graduation or equivalent, or standing as a mature applicant at least 19 years of age and out of secondary school for a minimum of one year. English is met through English 10 at a minimum of 50 per cent, or an accepted alternative; no IELTS, TOEFL or other standardized language-test score is published for this program. Mathematics is satisfied by a minimum of 50 per cent in Apprenticeship Mathematics 12, Pre-Calculus 11 or Foundations of Mathematics 11 (or an equivalent), or, for applicants who have been out of the required course for more than seven years, a minimum of 63 per cent on the college's own Trades Entrance Assessment mathematics test. Applicants must present government-issued photo identification (driver's licence, other photo ID or a valid passport) to sit provincial and national trade exams, since student ID cards are not accepted, and must have all required safety equipment and clothing before the first day of class. Multiple intakes run from October 2026 through October 2027 across the Kelowna, Salmon Arm and Penticton campuses.
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.
