Ontario's Truck and Coach Technician apprenticeship, trade code 310T: Grade 12 entry, three levels, 6,000 hours on the job plus 720 hours of in-school training, compulsory status, and the certifying exam with a Red Seal endorsement as Truck and Transport Mechanic.
Applies in: Ontario
In Ontario, a truck and coach technician apprentice registers under the trade name Truck and Coach Technician, code 310T. Find a truck, bus, or fleet maintenance employer willing to sponsor you, register the apprenticeship with Skilled Trades Ontario, and work through three levels that combine 6,000 hours on the job with 720 hours of in-school training, 6,720 hours in total, approximately three and a half years. At the end, the trade has a certifying exam, and passing it earns a Certificate of Qualification with the Red Seal endorsement under the title Truck and Transport Mechanic, recognized across Canada.
The name causes the first confusion, because the Ontario trade name, the code, and the Red Seal title are three different strings. The Ontario trade name is Truck and Coach Technician. The code is 310T. The Red Seal title, as Skilled Trades Ontario states it, is Truck and Transport Mechanic. Job Bank uses yet another grouping: the occupation sits in National Occupational Classification 72410, Automotive service technicians, truck and bus mechanics and mechanical repairers, which also covers automotive service technicians and other titles. This guide follows 310T, the truck and coach stream: the Skilled Trades Ontario trade page is the Truck and Coach Technician page, the chart row is the 310T row, and every hour figure in it belongs to that code. Use the code on your Training Agreement whenever a form asks for the trade, and expect Truck and Transport Mechanic on the national examination and Red Seal material for 310T.
The second point matters just as much, and it is the point that separates this trade from the voluntary trades in the same family. Truck and Coach Technician is a compulsory trade in Ontario. Nobody may practise it legally in Ontario without holding a Registered Training Agreement, a Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or a Certificate of Qualification, with their information on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register, and a Certificate of Qualification in this trade must be renewed to be valid. The apprenticeship is not merely structured training in this trade. It is the legal basis on which an apprentice works in the trade while training, and registration is how the province knows who is authorized to do the work. Do not assume the Ontario rule travels with you unchanged. Job Bank records truck and transport mechanic certification as compulsory in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Alberta, and voluntary in the other provinces and the Yukon named in the chart note. If another province is in your plans, the certification requirement there is a different conversation, and the Red Seal endorsement is what eases movement between provinces, not a substitute for checking the destination rule.
What the trade covers, in Skilled Trades Ontario's own description, is inspecting, repairing, and maintaining commercial trucks, emergency vehicles, buses, and road transport vehicles by performing work on structural, mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems. Specifically, a Truck and Coach Technician inspects, repairs, and maintains electrical and electronic systems; engines including fuel, exhaust, intake, and emission controls; transmissions, clutches, drive shafts, and axles; body and trim, frames, and hitching and coupling systems; steering, suspension, and computer control systems; tires, wheels, and hubs; and braking systems including air supply and hydraulic systems, plus heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration systems. The work spans diesel and gasoline engines, air brakes, and computer-controlled systems on vehicles whose failure on the road is a safety matter, which is the practical reason the trade is compulsory in Ontario.
The sponsor comes first. Skilled Trades Ontario is clear that an apprenticeship program 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 truck dealership, a bus or coach operator's maintenance shop, a freight or transportation company's fleet shop, or a municipal fleet maintenance operation, or a group of employers, such as a union or consortium. You do not need to take special courses or be in school to start; finding a sponsor is the key first step, as Skilled Trades Ontario states it.
The application steps, from Skilled Trades Ontario's start-an-apprenticeship page, are:
Before you sign, confirm the code on the agreement is 310T. A Truck-Trailer Service Technician agreement under 310J, or an Automotive Service Technician agreement under 310S, runs on different hours and a different scope, and hours logged under the wrong code do not convert on their own.
The program totals 6,720 hours: 6,000 hours of on-the-job training and 720 hours of in-school training across three levels, described by Skilled Trades Ontario as approximately three and a half years to become competent in the trade. 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, and apprentices typically work for a year or more, then take 8 to 12 weeks of classroom training, in a cycle that continues until the program is complete.
The rhythm is work, then a block of in-school training, then work again. The in-school curriculum, as Skilled Trades Ontario lists it for this trade, includes workplace health and safety, applied work practices and procedures, engine systems, electrical, electronic and fuel systems, gear trains, suspension, steering and brakes, and hitching systems, and includes but is not limited to instruction in those areas. Depending on the training delivery agency, in-school training may be available as block release, full-time for a set number of weeks, day release, one day per week from September to June, part-time night-school programs, or alternative delivery such as online or correspondence. Attend when invited through the training system, keep your logbook current, and make sure your recorded hours match what your sponsor reports. In a compulsory trade, unrecorded hours are not merely lost progress; they are time worked without the registered record that proves the training, so keep the logbook signed and the hours submitted. Job Bank's four-year wording for the truck and transport mechanic route describes the same national occupation group, and the difference between its four-year phrasing and Skilled Trades Ontario's 6,720-hour figure is a difference of expression, not a second program: the Ontario requirement is the hours under the Registered Training Agreement.
Truck and Coach Technician 310T 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 Truck and Transport Mechanic, passing the exam also carries the Red Seal endorsement, which is the credential recognized in every province and territory. The Certificate of Qualification in this compulsory trade must be renewed to be valid, and the holder's information must appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register. Confirm the current renewal period and any continuing requirements on Skilled Trades Ontario's pages before you rely on a renewal date from an older source, since no renewal period figure was stated on the trade page.
Experienced truck and coach technicians who never registered have a parallel door. The Trade Equivalency Assessment lets experienced tradespeople document equivalent qualifications or experience and seek to attempt the certifying examination for 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 prescribed total training time for the trade, 6,720 hours for 310T, supported by work experience verifications from references with direct knowledge of the work, with dates, hours, and detailed task descriptions. Check the current Trade Equivalency Assessment application guide before relying on that route, because the evidence bar is documentary, and because for a compulsory trade the guide notes that apprenticeship lets a person legally work in the trade while gaining experience or references. A person who already holds a recognized trade certificate or licence in another Canadian province or territory in the same trade may apply directly for an Ontario Certificate of Qualification, rather than through the assessment, as the guide states.
Do not start work in this trade in Ontario assuming a voluntary-trade rule applies. Truck and Coach Technician is compulsory: without a Registered Training Agreement, a Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or a Certificate of Qualification, and registration on the Public Register, practising the trade legally in Ontario is not permitted, as the trade page states it. Do not mix up the Ontario motive-power codes. Truck and Coach Technician 310T, Truck-Trailer Service Technician 310J, and Automotive Service Technician 310S are separate registrations with separate hour totals and scopes, and the 6,720 hours in this guide belong to 310T only. Do not carry Job Bank's automotive service technician certification list into this trade: Job Bank groups several titles under one National Occupational Classification, and its automotive service technician compulsory list, which names additional provinces, is a different occupation's list from the truck and transport mechanic list used in this guide. Do not let months of shop work go unrecorded. Keep the logbook signed and the hours submitted, and confirm the code on the agreement before the first shift. 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, and in-school training is attended when invited through the training system as a registered apprentice.
This guide follows Truck and Coach Technician, trade code 310T. That is the Ontario trade name and code in the Skilled Trades Ontario apprenticeship programs chart, updated June 2026, which lists the trade with a certifying exam, compulsory classification, a Red Seal endorsement, Grade 12 academic entry, three levels, 720 in-school hours, 6,000 on-the-job hours, and 6,720 hours in total. The Red Seal title is different: Skilled Trades Ontario states that in Ontario the trade is part of the Interprovincial Red Seal Program under the title Truck and Transport Mechanic. When a form asks for the trade, put down the code on your Training Agreement, 310T. Do not confuse this trade with Truck-Trailer Service Technician 310J, a separate compulsory trade with 4,480 hours in the same chart, or with Automotive Service Technician 310S, a separate trade with its own hours and scope. The hours in this guide belong to 310T only, and they do not transfer to the other codes.
For Truck and Coach Technician 310T, the program is 6,720 hours: 6,000 hours of on-the-job work experience and 720 hours of in-school training, delivered across three levels. Skilled Trades Ontario describes that total as approximately three and a half years to become competent in the trade. Job Bank describes the occupation route for this National Occupational Classification group differently: completion of a four-year truck and transport mechanic or truck-trailer repair apprenticeship, or a combination of over four years of work experience and industry courses in truck or heavy duty equipment mechanics, is required to be eligible for trade certification. The two wordings describe the same national occupation group from different angles, and the Ontario apprenticeship hours are the fixed part for an Ontario apprentice: 6,720 hours under a Registered Training Agreement. The calendar time follows how steadily the work comes, and the in-school training may be block release, day release, part-time, or alternative delivery depending on the training delivery agency.
Yes. Truck and Coach Technician 310T is a compulsory trade in Ontario, as both the Skilled Trades Ontario chart and the trade page state it. Skilled Trades Ontario states the consequence plainly: to practise this trade legally in Ontario, a person must hold a Registered Training Agreement, a Provisional Certificate of Qualification, or a Certificate of Qualification, and their information must appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register, and a Certificate of Qualification issued in this trade must be renewed to be valid. That is the opposite of a voluntary trade, where a person may work without registration. Do not assume the Ontario rule travels with you unchanged. Job Bank records trade certification for truck and transport mechanics as compulsory in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Alberta, and available but voluntary in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and the Yukon. Check the destination province before you move for work.
Grade 12 is the academic entry grade listed in the Skilled Trades Ontario apprenticeship programs chart for Truck and Coach Technician 310T. 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 states the national employment requirement for this occupation group as completion of secondary school and training courses or a vocational program usually required, which is consistent with the Grade 12 chart entry. Treat Grade 12 as the floor, not the competitive standard: a sponsor deciding whether to take you on will weigh comfort with applied trade calculations, electrical and electronic diagnostics, and reading technical information, and the in-school curriculum runs on workplace health and safety, applied work practices and procedures, engine systems, electrical, electronic and fuel systems, gear trains, suspension, steering and brakes, and hitching systems. A driver's licence is not stated as an apprenticeship entry requirement on the Skilled Trades Ontario pages, so do not treat an employer posting that asks for a particular licence class as the apprenticeship rule; it is that employer's requirement for that job.
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 unable to 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 by email or mail. You will need your Social Insurance Number, mailing address, and email, your sponsor's legal name, mailing address, and business phone number, a sponsor contact person's name, phone number, and email, and work details including your start date with the sponsor and the number of work and training hours per week. Once approved, you and your sponsor sign a Training Agreement, which registers you as an apprentice, you can access it through your portal account or receive a mailed copy, and you receive a Registered Apprentice Wallet Card to carry while you work. Because this is a compulsory trade, your name will appear on the Skilled Trades Ontario Public Register.
Yes, through the Trade Equivalency Assessment, subject to the documentary bar in Skilled Trades Ontario's application guide. It exists for experienced tradespeople who have not completed an Ontario apprenticeship but have equivalent qualifications and experience and want to attempt the certifying examination for an Ontario Certificate of Qualification. Applicants are held to the same on-the-job training standard required to complete an apprenticeship, including verifiable evidence of competency in the full scope of the trade as defined by the trade's Training Standard, and experience at least equal to the prescribed total training time, which for this trade is 6,720 hours. Evidence takes the form of work experience verifications from references with direct knowledge of the work, with start and end dates, total months and hours, and detailed descriptions of tasks with specific examples, plus a detailed resume and supporting documents. For a compulsory trade, the guide notes that apprenticeship lets a person legally work in the trade while gaining experience or references, so check the current Trade Equivalency Assessment application guide and speak with an Employment Ontario apprenticeship office before choosing between the assessment and registration as an apprentice, because the evidence bar is documentary and an unverifiable application will not be approved.
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, the Certificate of Qualification renewal period, and the calendar length 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.