Skilled Trades Ontario

Skilled Trades Ontario is an agency of the Government of Ontario, Canada, responsible for apprenticeship and trade certification. It was established under the Building Opportunities in the Skilled Trades Act, 2021 and operates under the province's Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development. Its website is skilledtradesontario.ca.

Role

Skilled Trades Ontario:

• develops and maintains apprenticeship programs and training standards for more than 140 skilled trades in Ontario;
• schedules and administers trade certification exams;
• issues Certificates of Qualification in all trades that have a certifying exam, and renews them in compulsory trades;
• keeps a Public Register of people authorised to work in compulsory trades;
• assesses experienced workers who want to challenge a trade exam.

Compliance and enforcement of trade rules, such as inspections of job sites, are handled by the provincial ministry rather than by the agency itself.

Compulsory and voluntary trades

Ontario divides trades into compulsory trades, where a person must hold a Certificate of Qualification or be a registered apprentice to do the work, and non-compulsory (voluntary) trades, where certification is available but not legally required. Whether a particular trade is compulsory can be checked on the agency's trade information pages.

Relevance to roofing

Roofing in Ontario is taught through apprenticeship and college programs, and roofers can earn a Certificate of Qualification after passing the trade exam. Consumers checking a roofer may ask whether the workers hold certificates or are registered apprentices, and may look up compulsory trade holders on the Public Register. Separate from trade certification, roofing contractors may also need municipal business licences, building permits for certain work and coverage with Ontario's workplace safety insurance board.

Other provinces

Each Canadian province and territory runs its own apprenticeship authority, for example SkilledTradesBC in British Columbia. The interprovincial Red Seal program allows qualified tradespeople in designated trades to work across provinces. Trade associations such as the Canadian Roofing Contractors Association are separate and voluntary.