Trades - Apprenticeship in Carpenter Apprenticeship

The Carpenter Apprenticeship at Red Deer Polytechnic is a four-year Red Seal trade program combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction delivered in the institution's shops. Apprentices learn to construct and repair structures made of wood, steel and other materials. Each year includes eight weeks of on-campus classroom instruction and a minimum of 1,560 hours of on-the-job training, split roughly 80% workplace and 20% classroom. To complete classroom training, students must achieve a weighted average of 65%, with no section under 50%, in both theory and practical components, plus a minimum grade of 70% on the AIT Provincial Exam for each period, and a minimum 70% on the AIT practical project at the end of the fourth period. On completing all four periods, apprentices receive a Journeyperson Certificate and an Advanced Diploma, and may sit the Red Seal Exam to work anywhere in Canada. Graduates typically work for contractors or become self-employed, advancing to roles such as foreman or construction superintendent.