Plumbing & Piping Certificate at University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, Canada is a foundation in Trades programme. The programme runs for 25 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 138 per credit for local students.
This certificate provides pre-apprenticeship training in plumbing and piping for students with little or no experience in the trade. Delivered full-time, Monday to Friday, over 25 weeks at UFV's Trades and Technology Centre in Chilliwack, instruction covers reading drawings and plumbing codes, using industry tools and fittings, installing drain-waste-vent systems, soldering and brazing, water system installation, pipe bending and fabrication, and fixture installation. Small class sizes support close instructor supervision. On completion, graduates are prepared to enter the workforce and begin an apprenticeship toward Red Seal certification in plumbing. The program suits people starting out in the plumbing and piping trade who want structured, intermediate-level technical training before pursuing sponsored apprenticeship employment, addressing ongoing demand for trained plumbing and piping technicians. It differs from the apprenticeship-level program in that it does not require prior employment or Skilled Trades BC registration, making it the entry point for those without existing trade experience.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: UFV's Academic Calendar sets the Plumbing and Piping certificate's entrance requirements as B.C. secondary school graduation or the equivalent, or mature-student status at 19 or older, with graduation itself only strongly recommended rather than mandatory. Mathematics is met by any Mathematics 10 or higher (Foundations of Mathematics, Pre-Calculus, Apprenticeship and Workplace Mathematics, MATH 072 or MATH 076) at C or better, or by passing UFV's trades math entrance exam; those away from schooling three or more years are advised to sit a math assessment first. English proficiency is met by English Studies 12 or English First Peoples 12 (or Communications 12, AP English, IB English A) at C or better, a UFV Accuplacer Reading score of 80 with WritePlacer at 5 or higher, a UFV CPT score of 41 or above, a TOEFL iBT score of 80 with no section under 19, or another UFV entry-level English standard. A medical statement may be required before or during the program. The September 2026 intake is listed as full.
Application Details
Start Date:September
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants apply directly to UFV: applications for Fall (September) 2027 entry open 1 October 2026, for Winter (January) 2027 entry opened 1 May 2026, and for Summer (May) 2027 entry open 1 October 2026; UFV publishes no closing date for any of these and instead admits many programmes strictly in application-date order once every required document has arrived, so applying soon after opening matters more than any deadline. Grade 12 students may apply from 1 October of their graduating year and must send final transcripts by 3 August. International applicants use UFV International's own windows - 1 October to 31 May for Fall, 1 May to 31 October for Winter and 1 October to 1 March for Summer - and are likewise assessed on a rolling, first-arrived basis until each programme fills. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
