Trades Qualifier - Work Experience Program Details

A. Ensure you meet the minimum work experience requirements for your trade.

Visit the Profile for your trade, find the Trade Qualifier row under Program Information, and review the Work Experience requirements.

• Minimum required months and hours are calculated on full-time (more than 30 hours per week) employment in the trade. 
• Minimum required months and hours for part-time (fewer than 30 hours per week) employment will be calculated according to the approved industry (months and hours) average of the trade. 
• If you have questions about how to calculate part-time employment months and hours, please contact us.

B. Gather contact information for a contact person with each company you are submitting work experience for.

Ensure the contact person is:

• currently employed at the company,
• aware that you are submitting the application,
• prepared to answer a call/email from us,
• aware that you permit them to share your employment information with us.

If the company is no longer in business, gather:

• copies of your pay stubs from each company (1 copy from the beginning of your employment, 1 copy from the middle of your employment and 1 copy of your last pay stub,
• employer reference letters on company letterhead,
• T4s from each company (1 copy from the beginning of your employment, 1 copy from the middle of your employment and 1 copy from your last pay stub,
• ROEs, and/or
• additional relevant documents.

C. Apply online for the Trades Qualifier – Work Experience program

Begin your application by clicking Apply Now here.

• You will need a basic Alberta.ca Account and an Alberta Student Number to begin your application. Review step-by-step instructions here.

Select your trade, choose Programs for Experienced Workers, and then select the Trades Qualifier Program – Work Experience.

• If you are a Foreign National (not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident), you will be asked to provide your arrival date.
• This is the date you arrived in Canada. If you have not yet arrived in Canada, enter your arrival date as ‘2099/01/01’.
• If you are using a recruiter to apply for this program, provide the name of the company. If the name does not appear on the drop-down list, please contact us. 
• Do not use recruiter addresses and contacts as your personal contact information.

Provide complete, true, and verifiable employer information.

• Provide the employer contact person’s full name, job position, phone number(s) and business/company email address(es),
• Include the correct country code and area code for the phone number.
• If the employer contact person does not speak English, ensure the preferred language is indicated.
• If you are self-employed (you work for yourself as the owner of a business rather than for an employer) or if the companies you worked for are no longer in business, see Step 1(G) below; otherwise, skip to Step 2.

Submit your hands-on work experience in the trade.

• Supervisory, instructional, or other duties that are not hands-on duties or within the scope of the trade will not be accepted.
• If you have previously received an Alberta Journeyperson Certificate in related trade, you cannot re-use work experience that was included toward your previous certification.
• If you have previously submitted work experience on an application that was cancelled or rejected, you must resubmit the information and ensure it is still correct and accurate.
• Work experience from past applications is not automatically approved and will be verified again at the time of your new submission.

Upload and attach clear copies of any documentation relevant to your application.

• employer letters on company letterhead, records of employment (ROE), T4s or T5s, pay stubs, etc.
• for self-employed work experience:
  • copies of your contracts or invoices (first contract/invoice and last contract/invoice for each company) with companies you have provided services to or sub-contracted work,
  • company names and contact information (contact’s full name, job title, phone number/business email) for companies for whom you contracted work, indicating the hours, months and dates you worked for them,
  • business license(s) or corporate registration(s), and
  • if you have/had a co-owner in the business, provide their contact information (full name/phone number/email) and legal proof of their co-ownership.
• for companies no longer in business provide:
  • copies of your pay stubs from each company (1 copy from the beginning of your employment, 1 copy from the middle of your employment and 1 copy of your last pay stub,
  • employer reference letters on company letterhead,
  • T4s from each company (1 copy from the beginning of your employment, 1 copy from the middle of your employment and 1 copy from your last pay stub,
  • ROEs, and/or
  • additional documents, upon request.

Pay the non-refundable $450 (Canadian) application fee.

A. We review your application and verify your work experience with the employer contact(s) you provided.

• The status of your application indicates ‘assessment.’
• Processing time is approximately 4 to 6 weeks. If your work experience is from outside of Canada, it may take longer.
• If all other options have been exhausted and we are still unable to verify enough of your submitted work experience, you may be eligible for a panel interview.
  • We notify you of the steps to take via a letter in your MyTradesecrets profile.
  • Additional fees apply.
  • Panel interviews are not guaranteed and must be completed in Alberta.

B. You receive a letter with the results of our review through your MyTradesecrets profile.

• Review Step 4 below to determine your next steps. 

A. Check on the status of your application.

Once we have reviewed your application and contacted your employers, you will receive a letter with the results of our review through your MyTradesecrets profile.

• Your next steps will vary depending on your application status after our review. 
• Review the chart below to determine what you need to do next. 

Acceptable new/additional information to provide if your application is rejected includes:

• new employer information on a Trades Qualifier Reassessment Form, and
• records of employment (ROE), pay stubs, T4s, employer letters on company letterhead (used for proof of employment).

If the same information is submitted for a Reassessment, you must indicate why this information must be reviewed again.

Unacceptable information is:

• a contact who is no longer employed by the company.

 A. Complete the applicable competency requirement(s) for your trade.

Visit the Profile for your trade, find the ‘Trade Qualifier’ row under Program Information, and determine which of the following competency requirements is applicable to your trade.

• If you are a Foreign National who was not in Alberta at the time of the application submission, but has now arrived in Alberta, you must:
  • update your MTS profile with your Alberta address and contact information, and
  • contact AIT to notify us that you have arrived in Alberta and for further information on your applicable exam(s) and/or competency requirement(s).

B. Complete your exam(s), if required. 

You are notified of the date, time, and location of any required exams through your MyTradesecrets profile after your application is approved (Step 3). 

• If you are unable to attend your exam on the scheduled date, contact us at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled exam. 
• If you do not attend twice, and have not provided the required notice, your application is cancelled.
• You are only permitted to reschedule your exam twice.
• If your exam(s) was not automatically scheduled, review the next step in your assessment approval letter in your MyTradesecrets profile.

Visit our exam centre for resources to help you prepare for your exam(s). 

Only Red Seal exams are available in both English and French.

• All other exams are in English only.

Under limited conditions, you may be allowed to use an interpreter/reader during an examination.

• For more information, contact AIT.

If you fail the exam twice, a completed training plan is required and must be approved before consideration of a third, and every subsequent attempt, at the exam.

• This also pertains to any accumulated attempts at the Red Seal exam outside of Alberta, and any other exam attempts under previous applications in the same trade.

If you complete all Trades Qualifier – Work Experience program requirements within 18 months, your journeyperson certificate and wallet card is mailed to you. 

Make sure the address in your MyTradesecrets profile is accurate so you receive it!

If you have not satisfied all program requirements by 18 months, your application is cancelled, and you must:

• apply with a new application,
• pay the application fee, and
• repeat Steps 1 through 4.

Any new application submitted must contain enough information/correspondence to meet the minimum requirements.

• Information/correspondence submitted in any previous application(s) will not automatically be brought forward to the active application.