Trades - Apprenticeship in Carpentry: Apprenticeship at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, Canada is a trades - apprenticeship in Trades programme. The programme runs for 28 weeks, delivered on campus. Teaching is in English. Tuition is CAD 118 per total for local students.
This program delivers the technical training component of the Carpentry apprenticeship for students registered with SkilledTradesBC and sponsored by an employer. The apprenticeship runs over four years, with apprentices returning each year for approximately seven weeks of in-class technical training at VIU's main Nanaimo campus while completing the remainder of the year as paid, on-the-job work with their employer. Across the four years, apprentices accumulate roughly 6,360 hours of work-based training. Level 1 covers foundational skills such as safe work practices, tool use, concrete formwork, wood-frame construction, and building science; Level 2 builds intermediate skills in documentation, site layout, and finishing materials; Level 3 develops advanced techniques in concrete formwork, wood-frame construction, and finishing; and Level 4 introduces survey instruments, site layout, and further building science. On completing all four levels and the required work-based hours, apprentices are eligible to write the Interprovincial Red Seal examination for journeyperson certification. The program serves only registered, employer-sponsored apprentices who have completed the previous level, not those seeking initial entry to the carpentry trade.
Requirements
Admission Requirements: Entry to this apprenticeship programme requires successful completion of the previous apprenticeship level, registration as an apprentice with SkilledTradesBC, and an employer sponsor secured before enrolling in each level. Start dates depend on availability through Trades Training BC, and classes fill on a first-come, first-registered basis with waitlists common for many levels; applicants should confirm seat availability with VIU's Apprenticeship Admissions and Registration office ([email protected], 250.740.6227). The programme page states no separate academic prerequisites or English-language proficiency standard, and no minimum GPA or English-test score is published for this apprenticeship.
Application Details
Application Deadline:Domestic (Canadian) applicants apply through EducationPlannerBC; Vancouver Island University sets no institution-wide equal-consideration date, and its admissions FAQ states deadlines vary by programme, with applications for most academic programmes opening 1 October in the year before a September start. VIU publishes no general closing date for that window; applicants are directed to each programme's own page for its own deadline. International applicants use the same portal; VIU publishes no international-specific institution-wide date either, and several health programmes (Practical Nursing, Nursing Unit Assistant) are stated as not currently open to international students. Each programme's own page carries its own Start Date, Deadlines, and Additional Application Details table for the 2026-27 cycle, and admission for programmes without a stated window is treated as ongoing/rolling until the intake fills. These are institution-wide dates; this programme publishes no deadline of its own.
