Trades - Apprenticeship in Heavy Duty Equipment Technician: Apprenticeship is a trades - apprenticeship in Mechanical Engineering programme taught at Okanagan College in Kelowna, Canada. The programme runs for 29 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 4,444 per total for local students.
At a glance
Degree:Trades - Apprenticeship
Field:Mechanical Engineering
Duration: 29 weeks
Delivery: On Campus
Language: English
Local tuition: CAD 4,444 / total
Last reviewed September 2026 ·
Program details
Overview
This Red Seal apprenticeship supplies the in-class technical training for heavy duty equipment technicians, who maintain, repair, and overhaul equipment powered by internal combustion engines or electric motors, such as graders, loaders, shovels, tractors, and forklifts. Training runs across four levels of decreasing length at the Kelowna Trades Complex: Level 1 is 10 weeks, Level 2 is 8 weeks, Level 3 is 6 weeks, and Level 4 is 5 weeks and may be taken online or in person. Multiple intakes are offered through 2026 and 2027, generally capped at 16 seats per level, with 32 seats available for the online Level 4 offering. To enrol, an apprentice must already be registered with SkilledTradesBC and employed by a company with at least one qualified journeyperson supervising their work-based hours; students are also expected to supply their own hand tools and CSA-approved steel-toed boots and to have a Windows laptop capable of running the Respondus LockDown Browser used for testing. The program suits working apprentices completing their technical training toward journeyperson status rather than people new to heavy equipment repair.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry is as a registered apprentice rather than through academic prerequisites: applicants must be registered as an apprentice with SkilledTradesBC and be working for an employer who employs at least one qualified journeyperson. Okanagan College describes registration as free and simple, and notes an employer can complete it online for an unregistered applicant within a few minutes. The program page states no secondary-school course or grade requirement, no minimum age, and no IELTS, TOEFL or other standardized English-language score; academic and language prerequisites are not published for this apprenticeship level, since admission turns on apprenticeship and employment status rather than prior schooling.
Application Details
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.
