Earn While You Learn
AS AN APPRENTICESHIP STUDENT, YOU’LL SPEND JUST 20% OF YOUR TIME IN CLASS — THE REST WILL CONSIST OF PAID, ON-THE-JOB TRAINING.
Apprenticeship programs provide Manitobans with recognized certification as skilled journeypersons and ensure that qualified trades professionals are available to meet industry requirements for workers in the skilled trades. Apprenticeship comprises over fifty trades and sub-trades designated under the Manitoba Apprenticeship and Certification Act.

Apprenticeship training combines on the job practical skills development with levels of technical training. Program standards and curriculum are approved by the Apprenticeship and Certification Board, on the recommendation of Provincial Advisory Committees, whose members represent Manitoba industry.

Apprenticeship training varies from two to five levels, depending on the trade. The average length of apprenticeship training is four levels. For each level, apprentices spend 80 percent of their time learning practical skills on the job. The remaining 20 percent is for technical training which is usually 4-10 weeks. Many of the apprenticeship technical training courses are administered in full-time day classes by Red River College. At the end of apprenticeship training, apprentices write a certification examination and must score at least 70 per cent to receive a Certificate of Qualification in the trade.

Trades offered at RRC through Apprenticeship Manitoba
Aircraft Maintenance Journeyperson
Auto Service Technician
Auto Service Technician – ASEP
Auto Service Technician – ASSET
Automotive Painter
Boilermaker
Boom Truck Hoist Operator
Bricklayer
Cabinetmaker
Carpenter
CNC Machinist
Construction Craft Worker
Construction Electrician
Cook
Gasfitter Domestic A
Gasfitter Domestic B
Insulator (Heat and Frost)
Iron Worker
Landscape Horticulturalist
Lather (Interior Systems Mechanic)
Machinist
Marine and Outdoor Power Equipment Technician
Mobile Crane Operator
Motor Vehicle Body Repairer (Metal Paint)
Painter and Decorator
Plumber
Power Electrician
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic (Commercial/Residential)
Roofer
Sheet Metal Worker
Sloped Roofer
Sprinkler System Installer
Steamfitter – Pipefitter
Tool and Die Maker
Tower Crane Operator
Transport Trailer Technician
Truck and Transport Mechanic
Entrance Requirements
To enter apprenticeship training, an individual must first find an employer who is positive about on-the-job training and is willing to enter into an apprenticeship agreement.

Apprenticeship Manitoba provides information and assistance in establishing an apprenticeship agreement, monitors the on-the-job training and makes arrangements for the in-school training.

The employer agrees to give specific on-the-job training for the apprentice in all areas of the trade. For the majority of trades, the minimum age requirement is 16 years. It is recommended that applicants have successfully completed high school.

• your study permit will indicate if you are able to work off campus. If so, you are allowed to work for up to 20 hours per week while:
• your program is in session, and.
• full-time during scheduled breaks in the academic calendar. 
• Students can also avail the Co-Op option. As follows. 

A co-operative education program integrates a student’s academic studies with work experience in co-operative education employer organizations. The plan is for the student to alternate periods of experience in appropriate fields of business, industry, government, social services and the professions in accordance with the following criteria:

• each work placement is developed and/or approved by the College as a suitable learning situation;
• the co-operative education student is engaged in productive work rather than merely observing;
• the co-operative education student receives remuneration for the work performed;
• the co-operative education student’s progress on the job is monitored by the College;
• the co-operative education student’s performance on the job is supervised and evaluated by the student’s co-operative education employer;
• the total co-operative education work experience is usually not less than twenty-five percent of the time spent in academic study.

Co-operative education plays an integral role in Red River College’s mission of providing high-quality educational and training opportunities. Co-operative education at Red River College is delivered through a decentralized system in order to reflect the unique situation of each department and ensure relevance to the industry served by the program.

All certificate and diploma programs at Red River College which are designated as co-operative education programs comply with the definition based upon the by-laws of Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada (CEWIL)

REQUIREMENT 1 – ACADEMIC REQUIREMENT

The first admission requirement, identified by the number “1”, is the primary academic requirement. This can be either:

Grade 12
Which for you means the equivalent of a Grade 12 education in Manitoba
Or Post-Secondary Education
Which for you means the equivalent of a Grade 12 in Manitoba AND a diploma or degree in the related field, as described in that section.

REQUIREMENT 2 – LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT

The second admission requirement, identified by the number “2”, is the language requirement. If English is not your first language, you have two options:

Meet the minimum scores of a language proficiency test (TOEFL, IELTS Academic or CanTest); or
Take the Intensive English for International Students program, if you haven’t taken or haven’t met the minimum scores of a language proficiency test.

REQUIREMENTS 3 AND 4 – ADDITIONAL ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS

A few programs will also have a third and fourth admission requirement, identified by the numbers “3” and “4”. Some examples include:

International Business: Submit a resume.
Some Creative Arts programs: Submit a portfolio (not mandatory at time of application, but required as part of the acceptance process) and participation in a mandatory orientation.
Health Care Aide: Provide proof of current and completed immunizations and testing.

Length of time to become language-ready for RRC
The information below will give you an idea of how long it might take for you to become language-ready for your academic program at RRC. (Remember, it’s not the test scores that matter; the important thing is the language skills that those scores represent.)

CLB 2 – 3 / BELOW IELTS 5.0 / BELOW CANTEST 3.0 / BELOW IBT TOEFL 60
You might need four consecutive 4-month terms. At this stage, you are beginning to create and understand simple and basic language in routine and non-demanding contexts (including basic needs, common and everyday activities, and familiar topics).

CLB 3 – 4 / BELOW IELTS 5.0 / BELOW CANTEST 3.0 / BELOW IBT TOEFL 60
You might need three or four consecutive 4-month terms. At this stage, you are gaining control over some of the basic language structures in routine and non-demanding contexts (including basic needs, common and everyday activities, and familiar topics), and beginning to develop some control over moderately complex language.

CLB 5 – 6 / IELTS 5.0 – 5.5 / CANTEST 3.0 / IBT TOEFL 60
You might need two or three consecutive 4-month terms. At this stage, you are developing some control over moderately complex language in moderately demanding contexts of language use. You are developing the ability to function independently in many familiar situations of daily social, educational and work-related life experience.

CLB 6 – 7 / IELTS 5.5 – 6.0 / CANTEST 3.5 / IBT TOEFL 70
You might need one or two consecutive 4-month terms, (Note: Your instructor will consider many factors when determining your language readiness for RRC programs. Some factors include your education background, your professional experience, and your motivation to improve your language skills.) At this stage, you are gaining control over moderately complex language in moderately demanding contexts of language use. You are developing the ability to function independently in most familiar situations of daily social, educational and work-related life experience, and in some less predictable contexts.

CLB 7 – 8 / IELTS 6.0 – 6.5 / CANTEST 4.0 / IBT TOEFL 75
You might need one 4-month term. (Note: Your instructor will consider many factors when determining your language readiness for RRC programs. Some factors include your education background, your professional experience, and your motivation to improve your language skills.) At this stage, you are completing control over moderately complex language in moderately demanding contexts of language use. You can function independently in most familiar situations of daily social, educational and work-related life experience, and in some less predictable contexts.

CLB 8 + / IELTS 6.5+ / CANTEST 4.5 / IBT TOEFL 80
You are most likely language-ready for entry into academic programs. At this stage, you are usually able to communicate effectively, appropriately, accurately and fluently in a wide range of contexts and situations, from predictable to unfamiliar, in communicatively demanding contexts