Apprenticeship structure, provincial requirements, wage progression by period, and career outlook across pipeline, structural, and manufacturing sectors.
Red Seal describes welders as permanently joining pieces of metal by applying heat, using filler metal or fusion processes, to join parts being manufactured, build structures, repair damaged or worn parts and apply wear surfaces. The Welder trade is designated Red Seal in all ten provinces and three territories, and Red Seal says the endorsement facilitates labour mobility.
This guide covers everything you need to know about the 456A Welder apprenticeship: what the trade involves day to day, how the apprenticeship is structured, wages at each period, provincial registration requirements, the Red Seal exam, and the long-term career paths available to journeyperson welders in Canada.
Most pay figures on this page are Government of Canada Job Bank data for everyone working in the occupation, not only certified tradespeople. The 456A exam is 125 questions in 4 hours and the pass mark is 70%, which is 88 correct answers; SkilledTradesBC rounds results up from 69.5%, so 87 correct also passes there.
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A Red Seal Welder works across several distinct industry sectors, and the daily work varies considerably depending on the employer:
Structural welders fabricate and erect steel components for buildings, bridges, towers, and industrial structures. This work involves reading structural drawings and weld symbol charts, fitting and tacking steel members, and welding to code requirements (typically CSA W59 for structural steel welding). Structural welders use primarily SMAW (stick) and FCAW (flux-cored) processes on carbon steel, and must be proficient in multiple positions — flat (1G/1F), horizontal (2G/2F), vertical (3G/3F), and overhead (4G/4F). Structural welding is physically demanding and often involves working at heights or in confined spaces on construction sites.
Pipeline welders join pipe sections for oil, gas, and water transmission pipelines. Pipeline welding predominantly uses SMAW for root passes and SMAW or FCAW fill/cap passes on carbon steel pipe. The Red Seal Welder standard lists 6G among its weld positions. Pipeline work can mean travelling to remote project sites and working extended rotations; on mainline pipeline jobs covered by the UA–Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada agreement, non-local workers receive a daily subsistence allowance where no camp is provided.
Shop welders work in manufacturing plants, metal fabrication shops, and OEM facilities producing everything from farm equipment to pressure vessels to architectural metalwork. Shop work can offer regular hours. Common processes include GMAW (MIG) for production speed on mild steel, GTAW (TIG) for stainless steel and aluminum work requiring clean, precise welds, and FCAW for heavier structural fabrication. Pressure vessel fabrication (ASME-coded work) and food-grade stainless steel welding (sanitary welds for food processing equipment) are higher-skill specializations within the shop environment.
The Welder apprenticeship structure varies by province, and each province's apprenticeship authority publishes its own requirements. The three provinces below each run it in 3 levels or periods of technical (in-school) training (checked October 2026).
| Province | On-the-job training | Technical training |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 5,280 hours (about 3 years) | 720 hours (6 months across 3 levels) |
| British Columbia | 4,620 hours | 26 weeks over 3 years (3 levels) |
| Alberta | 1,560 hours in each of 3 periods | 8 weeks in each period |
Sources: Skilled Trades Ontario, SkilledTradesBC and Alberta Tradesecrets.
Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training (AIT) administers the Welder program. Alberta uses a 3-period structure with 1,560 hours of work experience and 8 weeks of classroom instruction in each period (4,680 hours of work experience in all). Technical training is delivered through Alberta's polytechnics and trade schools (NAIT, SAIT, Portage College, etc.). Welder is a compulsory certification trade in Alberta: to perform the trade's restricted activities you must be a registered apprentice, a certified journeyperson or hold a recognized trade certificate. Apprentices apply online through Alberta's Tradesecrets site (tradesecrets.alberta.ca).
SkilledTradesBC (formerly ITA) administers the Welder program in BC. BC's program has 3 levels of technical training (26 weeks in all) and 4,620 hours of work-based training. Technical training is delivered through BC's public post-secondary institutions (BCIT, Camosun, Vancouver Island University, etc.). Welding is a voluntary trade in BC: SkilledTradesBC lists its certification type as Red Seal, while compulsory trades are listed as Skilled Trades Certification trades.
Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) regulates trades in Ontario. Welding in Ontario is a voluntary trade (not compulsory), meaning journeyperson certification is not legally required to work as a welder. The Ontario welder apprenticeship has 3 levels of in-school training (720 hours) and 5,280 hours of on-the-job training. Technical training is delivered through Ontario colleges. Apprentices register a training agreement with Skilled Trades Ontario, online through the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal.
Both provinces offer the Welder program through their respective apprenticeship authorities. Saskatchewan Apprenticeship and Trade Certification Commission (SATCC) and Manitoba's Apprenticeship Manitoba both use 3-level programs.
Welder apprentice wages in Canada are set as a percentage of the journeyperson rate, which varies by province and employer (union vs. non-union). Job Bank does not publish welder apprentice wages by period (its Welder Apprentice page repeats the figures for all welders), so this page does not estimate BC or Ontario apprentice wages; the Journeyperson row shows Job Bank's low–high range and median for all welders in each province, not only journeypersons (NOC 72106, 2023–24 wages). Alberta sets a legal minimum for Welder apprentices of 60%, 75% and 90% of the journeyperson rate over 3 periods (Alberta Tradesecrets, checked September 2026); the Alberta apprentice figures below apply those minimums to Job Bank's $38.00/hr Alberta median (NOC 72106, 2023–24 wages). Union rates are set by collective agreement:
| Period | % of JM Rate | Alberta | BC | Ontario |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period 1 | AB min. 60% | $22.80/hr (60% of $38.00) | not published by Job Bank | not published by Job Bank |
| Period 2 | AB min. 75% | $28.50/hr (75% of $38.00) | not published by Job Bank | not published by Job Bank |
| Period 3 | AB min. 90% | $34.20/hr (90% of $38.00) | not published by Job Bank | not published by Job Bank |
| Journeyperson | 100% | $25.00–$52.18/hr (median $38.00) | $23.25–$51.87/hr (median $35.00) | $21.00–$41.28/hr (median $28.00) |
On mainline pipeline jobs covered by the UA–Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada agreement, the Western Canada welder journeyman rate was $79.49/hr from May 1, 2025, compared with Job Bank's Alberta median of $38.00/hr for all welders (2023–24 wages), and non-local workers receive a daily subsistence allowance where no camp is provided. The agreement shows the May 1, 2026 rate as TBD, to be calculated and sent to contractors on June 1, 2026.
After completing your final period (or demonstrating equivalent trade experience through a challenge process), you are eligible to write the Red Seal 456A interprovincial exam. Key details:
Job Bank rates the 2025–2027 outlook for welders (NOC 72106) as good in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, moderate in Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan, limited in Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia, and very limited in Ontario; it is undetermined in the territories (outlooks updated December 10, 2025). Nationally it projects a moderate risk of labour shortage over 2024–2033. The sectors below are where welders work, not a forecast:
Pipeline construction, including mainline pipelines and utility pipeline replacement, employs pipeline welders; on mainline jobs covered by the UA–Pipe Line Contractors Association of Canada agreement, pay is set by that agreement.
NOC 72106 lists companies that manufacture structural steel and platework, boilers, heavy machinery, aircraft and ships and other metal products among welders' employers, along with welding contractors and welding shops.
Structural welding covers new construction and bridge and infrastructure rehabilitation.
The Canadian Welding Bureau (CWB) offers process- and position-specific weld qualifications under CSA W47.1 (fusion welding of steel), W47.2 (aluminum), and W186 (welding of reinforcing bars). Job Bank does not publish a pay premium for CWB qualifications; in Canada, people welding on certain products, buildings and bridge structures must be qualified by the CWB and work for a certified company.
Pressure welding — joining pressure vessels, boilers, steam lines, and process piping to ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code or B31 piping codes — is done in pulp and paper mills, petrochemical plants, power generation facilities and refineries, among other places. A pressure welder certificate is separate from the 456A trade certificate: in British Columbia, for example, certified welders may apply to Technical Safety BC for a pressure welder certificate of qualification, which has its own exam.
Experienced journeyperson welders with strong code knowledge can transition into welding inspection and quality assurance roles. The American Welding Society (AWS) Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) credential is widely recognized in Canada and opens doors to inspection positions on pipeline and structural projects. Job Bank reports $21.13–$52.48/hr (median $36.00) for welding inspectors in Canada (NOC 22230, 2023–24 wages), and inspection roles typically involve day shifts with reduced physical demand compared to production welding. The CWB also offers Welding Supervisor qualification for those interested in QA leadership roles.
Journey welders with strong teaching aptitude and experience can pursue welding instructor positions at trade schools and polytechnics. Instructor positions offer stable employment, benefits, and work-life balance. Welding programs at NAIT, SAIT, BCIT, and Ontario colleges regularly hire experienced journey welders as instructors and lab supervisors.
Welding work in Canada is available through both union and non-union channels, with different trade-offs:
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Start 456A Practice →It depends on the province. In Ontario, the 456A Welder apprenticeship is 5,280 hours of on-the-job training (about 3 years) plus 720 hours of technical training across 3 levels (Skilled Trades Ontario). In British Columbia it is 4,620 hours of work-based training plus 26 weeks of technical training over 3 years (SkilledTradesBC). In Alberta it is 3 periods, each designed to take about a year, with 1,560 hours of work experience and 8 weeks of classroom instruction in each period (Alberta Tradesecrets). Most provinces and territories use the Red Seal exam as the final certification exam (red-seal.ca); in Alberta it is an option in the final period. The Welder trade is designated Red Seal in all ten provinces and three territories, and Red Seal says the endorsement facilitates labour mobility.
The Red Seal 456A Welder exam covers SMAW (Shielded Metal Arc Welding / stick), FCAW, MCAW and GMAW (Flux-Cored, Metal-Cored and Gas Metal Arc Welding / MIG), GTAW (Gas Tungsten Arc Welding / TIG) and SAW (Submerged Arc Welding), plus OFC (Oxy-Fuel Cutting), plasma arc and air carbon arc cutting and gouging (red-seal.ca). The Red Seal Welder standard the exam is built on also covers base metal metallurgy, interpreting drawings and welding symbols, safety-related activities, checking for distortion during welding, and visual inspection of welds.
No, they are different credentials. The Red Seal endorsement is available to qualified welders who pass the interprovincial Red Seal exam, which covers SMAW, FCAW, MCAW, GMAW, GTAW and SAW welding and oxy-fuel, plasma arc and air carbon arc cutting and gouging. A CWB (Canadian Welding Bureau) qualification is a practical test that, in the CWB's words, ensures the welder is competent to weld in the process and position tested; in Canada, people welding on certain products, buildings and bridge structures must be qualified by the CWB and work for a company certified under CSA W47.1, W47.2, W55.3 or W186.
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