Ontario's Roofer apprenticeship, trade code 449A: Grade 10 entry, two levels, 3,520 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 roofer apprentice registers under the trade name Roofer, code 449A. Find a roofing contractor willing to sponsor you, register the apprenticeship with Skilled Trades Ontario, and work through two levels that combine 3,520 hours on the job with 480 hours of in-school training, 4,000 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 name Roofer, recognized across Canada. This guide is about learning the trade as an apprentice. It is not about starting a roofing company: that is a different guide, with different steps, and it is linked at the end.
The name is straightforward here, and that is worth stating plainly. Job postings say roofer. The Ontario system says Roofer 449A. The Red Seal title is Roofer. They are the same apprenticeship. Use code 449A whenever a form asks for the trade, and expect Roofer on the national exam material.
The second point matters just as much. Roofer is a non-compulsory trade in Ontario. Nobody needs a licence or certificate to do roofing work in this province, and you can work on roofs 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 roofing trade certification as compulsory in Quebec and voluntary in all other provinces and the territories. 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 installing, repairing, or replacing flat roofs as well as shingles, shakes, or other roofing tiles on sloped roofs, working with a variety of materials with different application methods, including slate, roofing tiles, and membrane systems. Roofers also do damp, water, and weather-proofing work. The National Occupational Classification group, Roofers and shinglers, adds a distinction worth knowing: shinglers, who install and replace shingles, tiles, and similar coverings on sloped roofs, require one to two years of on-the-job training in Job Bank's description, while roofers follow the apprenticeship route in this guide. The 449A apprenticeship is the roofer route, not the shingler-only route.
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 roofing contractor or a general contractor with a roofing crew, 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 4,000 hours: 3,520 hours of on-the-job training and 480 hours of in-school training across two levels. 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, and hours-based trades carry a ratio of one journeyperson to one apprentice. 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 rhythm is work, then a block of in-school training, then work again. The two in-school levels cover the theory behind the systems you install on the job: flat roof systems, sloped roof systems, the materials and application methods for each, and the safety practices for work at heights. Attend when invited through the training system, keep your logbook current, and make sure your recorded hours match what your sponsor reports. Roofing work is seasonal in a way most indoor trades are not, so a slow winter can stretch the calendar even when the hour total stays fixed. Ask a sponsor how steady the winter work is before you sign, because steady work is what turns 4,000 hours into about two years.
Roofer 449A 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 title Roofer, passing the exam also carries the Red Seal endorsement, which is the credential recognized in every province and territory.
Experienced roofers 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, 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 roofing certification as compulsory, so check the destination province before you move for work. Do not confuse learning the trade with running the business. A roofing business needs registration, insurance, workers compensation coverage, and pricing, and none of that is in the apprenticeship logbook. The business guide linked below covers that side. 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.
Roofer, trade code 449A. That is the Ontario trade name in the Skilled Trades Ontario apprenticeship programs chart, and the Red Seal title is also Roofer. The national occupation name is Roofers and shinglers, National Occupational Classification 73110. When a form asks for the trade, put down 449A. It separates this trade from Sheet Metal Worker, which is a different Ontario trade that also works on roofs, and from the roofing business guides, which cover running a company rather than learning the trade.
The program is 4,000 hours: 3,520 hours of on-the-job work experience and 480 hours of in-school training, delivered across two levels. Skilled Trades Ontario describes the on-the-job portion as approximately two years, and the trade report describes the technical training as four months across two levels. 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 two- to three-year apprenticeship program, or over three years of work experience in the trade, to be eligible for trade certification. The hours are the fixed part; the calendar time follows how steadily the work comes.
No. Roofer 449A is non-compulsory in Ontario. You do not need to be a registered apprentice or a certificate holder to do roofing work 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 national position for roofers the same way: roofing trade certification is compulsory in Quebec and available, but voluntary, in all other provinces and the territories. 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 Roofer 449A, and the Skilled Trades Ontario trade report lists the same grade. 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, layout, and reading drawings, will matter to a sponsor deciding whether to take you on. Working at heights and in all weather is part of the job from the first week, so a sponsor will weigh that too.
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. The Skilled Trades Ontario trade report for Roofer states that experienced workers who have not completed an Ontario apprenticeship but have equivalent qualifications or experience in the trade can use the Trade Equivalency Assessment Process. The bar is documented proof: competency against the Training Standard and experience at least equal to the required training time, 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 blocks — 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.