At Vancouver Community College in Vancouver, Canada, Trades - Apprenticeship in Automotive Refinishing Technician Apprentice is offered as a trades - apprenticeship in Trades programme. The programme runs for 10 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 1,100 per total for local students.
This apprenticeship delivers the technical-training component for registered apprentices pursuing British Columbia trade certification as an Automotive Refinishing Technician. The technical training spans two levels, each combinable with roughly 3,300 hours of workplace training over about two years in total. Level 1 can be completed on-campus in seven weeks or through a blended format of approximately twenty-three weeks of online study followed by a three-week in-person intensive; Level 2 is offered on-campus over six weeks. All in-person instruction takes place at VCC's Broadway campus. Coursework covers colour matching and paint mixing, surface preparation, finish application, and work planning and materials organization within a working refinishing shop. Completion of both levels' technical training and workplace hours leads to formal British Columbia trade certification in automotive refinishing. The programme suits apprentices who already have an employer willing to sponsor their training and hold a valid SkilledTradesBC ID, and who are comfortable with the physical demands of refinishing work, including extended standing, lifting, and exposure to paint chemicals and fumes. The blended delivery option additionally suits apprentices who need flexibility to complete theory coursework online before attending a short, intensive in-person session.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: This is a SkilledTradesBC apprenticeship: applicants need a valid SkilledTradesBC ID and an official apprenticeship number from SkilledTradesBC before applying to VCC, and must have a current employer and sponsor in place before enrolling. Blended/online E-pprentice delivery expects strong self-directed learning, digital proficiency and the ability to work independently. The page names no course, grade or standardized English-test requirement. Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, at least 16 years old or a secondary-school graduate, and submit official transcripts and any other required documents; the trade involves chemical exposure, heavy lifting, prolonged standing and colour differentiation, and applicants with disabilities are directed to VCC's disability services for accommodation, while self-identified Indigenous applicants are encouraged to contact VCC's Indigenous Education and Community Engagement team.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic applicants (Canadian citizens and permanent residents) apply through EducationPlannerBC. VCC publishes each programme's own application window, term by term, on its When to Apply page rather than one college-wide date: windows open roughly six to twenty months before the term starts and close on a stated date, though popular programmes can close earlier once seats fill, since places generally go to eligible applicants in the order their application is completed. International applicants use the International Applicant option on EducationPlannerBC; VCC opens international applications on 1 February of the previous year for Winter entry, 1 June for Spring/Summer, and 1 October for Fall, with no fixed closing date — applications continue until roughly three to four months before the term begins or until it fills, so admission is effectively rolling for international applicants. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
