Trade Schools in Edmonton
Trade schools in Edmonton with verified apprenticeship classroom instruction: NAIT and the Alberta Pipe Trades College, the trades each covers, and where to confirm current intakes.
Trade Schools in Vancouver
Trade schools in Vancouver with verified apprenticeship and foundation training: Vancouver Community College in Vancouver and BCIT at its Burnaby campus, the trades each covers, and where to confirm current intakes.
Applies in: British Columbia
Trade schools in Vancouver
Vancouver has one trade school with campuses inside the city and one large Metro Vancouver trades provider just across the city boundary, both checked against official pages on October 27, 2026. Apprenticeship classroom instruction is the in-school part of an apprenticeship; the on-the-job part happens with an employer. Foundation programs are the pre-apprenticeship route for people who do not yet have an employer sponsor. Confirm current intakes and admission requirements on the program page linked for each school before you apply, because intakes change without notice.
Vancouver schools, verified
| School | Trades covered | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Vancouver Community College | Construction electrician, heavy mechanical trades, baker | Broadway and Downtown campuses, Vancouver |
| BCIT | Plumber, carpentry, electrical, gasfitter Class B, industrial electrician, ironworker, marine fitter, metal fabricator, sheet metal, steamfitter-pipefitter, welder, boilermaker, cabinetmaking | 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby |
Vancouver Community College runs its trades training from two Vancouver campuses: Broadway at 1155 East Broadway and Downtown at 250 West Pender Street. Its construction electrician foundation program runs 24 weeks and teaches electrical theory, Canadian Electrical Code installation, safety, troubleshooting, and electrical drawings. Its heavy mechanical trades programs cover apprentice and foundation training for repairing commercial vehicles and industrial heavy mechanical equipment, in a working shop at the Broadway campus. VCC states that apprentices spend about 80 percent of their time on the job and that most apprenticeships take four years to complete, and that apprentices must find an employer sponsor for the higher levels. VCC also lists a baker apprentice program, which requires an official apprenticeship number with SkilledTradesBC before enrolling.
BCIT is the British Columbia Institute of Technology. Its School of Construction and the Environment trades page lists full-time apprenticeship and foundation programs across the trades in the table above, including plumber, carpentry, electrical, gasfitter Class B, sheet metal, and welder. BCIT's address is in Burnaby, not Vancouver. That matters for travel and for honest labelling, and it does not make BCIT less relevant: it is the Metro Vancouver provider with the broadest trades list, and for plumber apprenticeship training it is the verified provider in this guide, because VCC's plumber foundation program was still a proposal in VCC's January 2026 Education Council papers, not a live program page.
Beyond Vancouver
If neither provider covers your trade, look to the wider Lower Mainland rather than guessing at a provider's status. The Finishing Trades Institute of BC, in Surrey, offers training for apprentices and journey persons in painting and decorating, glazing, drywall finishing, and wall and ceiling installer trades. Surrey is a separate city from Vancouver, so it is listed here as a beyond-Vancouver option, not as a Vancouver school. For every provider, confirm SkilledTradesBC alignment and current intakes on the provider's own program page before applying.
Related guides
- Trade schools in Calgary: SAIT and the Piping Industry Training School, the Calgary pattern this guide follows.
- Plumber cost in British Columbia: Vancouver versus Interior plumber rates, SkilledTradesBC credentials, and Vancouver permit fees, if you are hiring rather than training.
- How to become an electrician apprentice in British Columbia: the British Columbia electrician apprenticeship route in full.
- Furnace replacement cost in British Columbia: furnace pricing and Technical Safety BC gas licensing, for the heating side of BC trades work.
From trade to classroom, in Vancouver
- Pick your tradeConstruction electrician, heavy mechanical trades, baker, plumber, carpenter, welder, sheet metal, and the other trades the two providers cover.
- Match the trade to a providerVCC covers construction electrician, heavy mechanical trades, and baker in Vancouver; BCIT at Burnaby covers plumber, carpenter, welder, and the broad trades list.
- Check the campus addressVCC campuses are in Vancouver at Broadway and Downtown; BCIT trades training is at 3700 Willingdon Avenue in Burnaby, in Metro Vancouver.
- Confirm before you applyOpen the program page linked in the table and check current intakes and admission requirements.
Questions people ask
Which trade schools in Vancouver offer apprenticeship classroom instruction?
Two providers are verified in this guide, checked October 27, 2026: Vancouver Community College, with campuses in Vancouver, and BCIT, whose trades and apprenticeship programs run at its Burnaby campus in Metro Vancouver. VCC's opened pages cover construction electrician foundation training and heavy mechanical trades apprentice and foundation training. BCIT's opened trades page lists apprenticeship programs including plumber, carpentry, electrical, gasfitter Class B, sheet metal, steamfitter-pipefitter, and welder. Both work within the SkilledTradesBC apprenticeship system; the table below gives the trades each covers and a link to its program page.
Is BCIT in Vancouver?
No, and this guide does not claim otherwise. BCIT's trades contact address is 3700 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, British Columbia. Burnaby borders Vancouver and BCIT is the large Metro Vancouver trades provider, but a Vancouver guide should say Burnaby plainly so a reader does not travel to the wrong city. VCC is the provider with campuses inside Vancouver itself: the Broadway campus at 1155 East Broadway and the Downtown campus at 250 West Pender Street.
Does VCC offer plumber training in Vancouver?
Not as a live program verified for this guide. VCC's Education Council papers from January 2026 describe a proposed Plumber Foundation Certificate, with a program start date of January 2027 in a tuition proposal, based on SkilledTradesBC curriculum. A concept paper and a tuition proposal are not a live program page, so this guide does not list plumber among VCC's current trades. For plumber apprenticeship training in Metro Vancouver, use BCIT, whose trades page lists Plumber as an apprenticeship program. Check VCC's program pages before applying, because the proposed program may launch after this guide's October 27, 2026 check.
Are VCC and BCIT the only trade schools in Vancouver?
They are the providers verified for this guide on October 27, 2026. They are not a claim that no other Vancouver provider exists. No other Vancouver institution was verified on its own official page for this guide, so none is listed from a directory snippet alone. Outside Vancouver, the Finishing Trades Institute of BC is based in Surrey, a separate city, and it is not listed as a Vancouver school.
How do I confirm a Vancouver program is still running before I apply?
Open the program page linked in the table and check its current intake dates and admission requirements. This guide's entries were checked October 27, 2026, and programs change intakes without notice. For apprenticeship programs, you also need an employer sponsor for the on-the-job part: VCC states that apprentices must find an employer to sponsor and train them as they complete the higher apprenticeship levels, and that apprentices spend about 80 percent of their time on the job. Foundation programs are the pre-apprenticeship route for people without a sponsor yet.
Sources
- Vancouver Community College, construction electrician foundation, 24 weeks, Vancouver campuses
- Vancouver Community College, heavy mechanical trades, apprentice and foundation programs, 80 percent on the job, four-year apprenticeships
- Vancouver Community College, baker apprentice, SkilledTradesBC apprenticeship number required
- BCIT, trades technical and apprenticeships, full-time program list and Burnaby address
- Vancouver Community College, Education Council papers January 13, 2026, Plumber Foundation Certificate concept paper and January 2027 start in tuition proposal
- Finishing Trades Institute of BC, Surrey-based, not listed as a Vancouver school