Ontario's Drywall Finisher and Plasterer apprenticeship, trade code 453A: Grade 10 entry, one level, 4,920 hours on the job plus 480 hours of in-school training, voluntary status, and the certifying exam with a Red Seal endorsement.
Applies in: Ontario
In Ontario, a drywall finisher and plasterer apprentice registers under the trade name Drywall Finisher and Plasterer, code 453A. Find a drywall, plastering, or interior finishing contractor willing to sponsor you, register the apprenticeship with Skilled Trades Ontario, and work through one level that combines 4,920 hours on the job with 480 hours of in-school training, 5,400 hours in total. At the end, the trade has a certifying exam, and passing it earns a Certificate of Qualification with the Red Seal endorsement under the same trade name, recognized across Canada. Skilled Trades Ontario does list a drywall finisher and plasterer apprenticeship, so this slot ships: the kill condition in the batch slate, no apprenticeship listed, does not apply.
The name causes the first confusion, and it is a scope confusion. The Ontario trade is Drywall Finisher and Plasterer, one trade covering both finishing drywall and applying plaster. Job postings say taper, drywall taper, or plasterer. They are the same apprenticeship when the registration says 453A. Use code 453A whenever a form asks for the trade, and expect the same name on the national exam material.
The second point matters just as much. Drywall Finisher and Plasterer is a non-compulsory trade in Ontario. Nobody needs a licence or certificate to tape drywall or apply plaster in this province, and you can work in the trade without ever registering. The apprenticeship is not permission to work. It is structured training, a logbook of signed-off skills, a Certificate of Apprenticeship, and the path to the certifying exam and the Red Seal endorsement. Do not assume the Ontario rule travels with you. Job Bank records plasterer certification as compulsory in Quebec, so if Quebec is in your plans, the certification requirement there is a different conversation.
What the trade covers, in Skilled Trades Ontario's own description, is taping and finishing wallboard, applying, maintaining, and restoring plaster and similar materials on interior and exterior walls, ceilings, and building partitions, to make them more decorative, soundproof, and fire-rated. A drywall finisher and plasterer also textures concrete, applies coats of plaster to foundation materials, and installs, repairs, and restores mouldings and ornaments. The work includes taping to fire-rate and gas-proof walls, installing beads to protect corners, filling joints and imperfections, mixing and applying compound and sanding to a smooth surface, and wiring mesh and installing ornaments. This is the finishing and plastering trade. It is not the same trade as Drywall, Acoustic and Lathing Applicator 451A, the lather trade, which erects the stud, lath, and ceiling systems the finisher then works over.
The sponsor comes first. Skilled Trades Ontario is clear that an apprenticeship begins when you sign a Training Agreement with a sponsor and register it, and that finding a sponsor is the key first step. A sponsor can be an individual employer, such as a drywall contractor, a plastering firm, or an interior finishing company, or a group of employers, such as a union or consortium.
The application steps, from Skilled Trades Ontario's start-an-apprenticeship page, are:
The program totals 5,400 hours: 4,920 hours of on-the-job training and 480 hours of in-school training in one level. The apprenticeship programs chart marks the trade as hours-based, which means you must complete the on-the-job training for the entire duration of the prescribed hours. About 80 per cent of an Ontario apprenticeship is paid work on the job and about 20 per cent is classroom learning, according to Skilled Trades Ontario.
The in-school training covers trade knowledge and safety, taping preparation techniques, taping standards and requirements, special application techniques, interior base and finishing plaster procedures, plaster veneer systems procedures, cornice moulding and ornamental moulding, cast and pre-fabricated moulding and cornice production, exterior cement plaster or aggregate techniques, and drywall, taping, and plaster repair. Attend when invited through the training system, keep your logbook current, and make sure your recorded hours match what your sponsor reports. Finishing work punishes rushed joints in a way that shows up under paint: a poorly feathered seam reads through the finished wall, which is why the logbook skills around taping and sanding exist.
Drywall Finisher and Plasterer 453A has a certifying exam. Skilled Trades Ontario issues a Certificate of Apprenticeship when you complete the apprenticeship program, and a Certificate of Qualification when you pass the certifying exam. Because the trade is part of the Interprovincial Red Seal Program under the same title, passing the exam also carries the Red Seal endorsement, which is the credential recognized in every province and territory.
Experienced drywall finishers and plasterers who never registered have a parallel door. The Trade Equivalency Assessment lets experienced tradespeople document equivalent qualifications or experience and seek the Certificate of Qualification without completing the apprenticeship. The application guide requires verifiable evidence of competency against the Training Standard and experience at least equal to the required training time, 5,400 hours for this trade, supported by work experience verifications from references who know the work first-hand.
Do not start work assuming the Ontario voluntary status applies everywhere in Canada. Quebec treats plasterer certification as compulsory, so check the destination province before you move for work. Do not confuse this trade with Drywall, Acoustic and Lathing Applicator 451A, which is the lather trade, or with Painter and Decorator, which coats the finished surface rather than taping and plastering it. Do not let months of site work go unrecorded. In an hours-based trade, unrecorded hours are hours you may have to work again, so keep the logbook signed and the hours submitted. And do not pay for a course that promises the certificate on its own. The certificate comes through Skilled Trades Ontario on completion of the program and the certifying exam, not through a private training provider alone.
Drywall Finisher and Plasterer, trade code 453A. That is the Ontario trade name exactly as Skilled Trades Ontario lists it, and the Red Seal title is the same name, Drywall Finisher and Plasterer. The national occupation group is Plasterers, drywall installers and finishers and lathers, National Occupational Classification 73102, which covers three related trades in one group. When a form asks for the trade, put down 453A. It separates this trade from Drywall, Acoustic and Lathing Applicator 451A, the lather trade, which builds the wall and ceiling systems rather than taping and finishing them.
The program is 5,400 hours: 4,920 hours of on-the-job work experience and 480 hours of in-school training, in one level. Skilled Trades Ontario describes that total as approximately three years. The apprenticeship programs chart marks the trade as hours-based, which means you complete the full prescribed on-the-job hours rather than progressing on competency sign-off alone. Job Bank describes the occupation route as a three- or four-year apprenticeship program in plastering, drywalling or lathing, or a combination of over three years of work experience and some high school, college or industry courses in plastering, drywalling or lathing. The Ontario hours are the fixed part; the calendar time follows how steadily the work comes.
No. Drywall Finisher and Plasterer 453A is non-compulsory in Ontario. You do not need to be a registered apprentice or a certificate holder to tape drywall or apply plaster in this province, though registration is still how you get the structured training, the Certificate of Apprenticeship, and the certifying exam. Job Bank records the position for this occupation group in parts: plasterer trade certification is compulsory in Quebec and available, but voluntary, in Ontario, Saskatchewan and British Columbia; drywall installer and finisher trade certification is available, but voluntary, in British Columbia; and lather certification is compulsory in Quebec and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the Yukon. Do not assume the Ontario rule travels with you to Quebec.
Grade 10 is the academic entry grade listed in the Skilled Trades Ontario apprenticeship programs chart for Drywall Finisher and Plasterer 453A. Skilled Trades Ontario also requires apprentices to be at least 16 years old, to have legal permission to work in Canada, and to have a sponsor in Ontario. Job Bank describes completion of secondary school as usually required for the occupation nationally, so treat Grade 10 as the floor, not the competitive standard: a diploma, and comfort with measuring, mixing, and reading specifications, will matter to a sponsor deciding whether to take you on. The in-school training runs on taping standards, plaster procedures, and moulding work, so steady hands and attention to finish quality are worth arriving with.
First find a sponsor, an employer or group sponsor responsible for your training. Then apply: if you are 18 or older, apply online through the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal; if you are 16 or 17, or you cannot apply online, complete the paper Application for Apprenticeship Training, signed by you, a parent or guardian if you are under 18, and your sponsor, and submit it to Skilled Trades Ontario. Once approved, you and your sponsor sign a Training Agreement, which registers you as an apprentice, and you receive a Registered Apprentice Wallet Card.
Yes, through the Trade Equivalency Assessment. It exists for tradespeople who never completed an Ontario apprenticeship but hold equivalent qualifications or experience and want an Ontario Certificate of Qualification. The bar is documented proof: competency against the Training Standard and experience at least equal to the required training time, which is 5,400 hours for this trade, supported by work experience verifications from references who saw the work. Check the current Trade Qualifier application guide before relying on that route, because the evidence bar is documentary.
Where a figure could not be verified on a Skilled Trades Ontario or Job Bank page at the time of writing — any examination fee, any wage figure, and the calendar dates of the in-school training block — this guide says so and points to the Skilled Trades Ontario trade page instead of carrying a secondary source's figure. Check that page before you pay anything or plan around a date.