Hi,
just passed Red seal Industrial Electrician here in vancouver, BC. It took me 4 months to get my application approved to be eligible to write exam, then it took 2 months to get exam date, 15 days to get result. You have to provide experience letter from your previous employer declaring your position, working hours & job description on the letter pad. AND on top of that you have to get signed the prescribed forms from your employers as well, which you can download from www.itabc.ca/apprenticeship & red seal programs/ electrician industrial.

We applied at the AIT body in alberta to see if OH could challenge the exam
Once we had that sorted and we knew that he could, he applied for jobs in a wide area of canada and advised that we was coming over on xx day.........
We had lined up about 20 interviews in 2 weeks, he only attended 6 and got the 6 jobs, so we sat there and picked the one that suited us

As far as picking the crappy job..............NO we didn't infact i believe if you can go in with the right frame of mind you will be fine. (this has also been tested with another expat )
OH sat the redseal exam within 6mths of being here and passed, yeah its stressful, but it is so worth it.

Good Luck LB

is there so many times you can attempt it?and if so any mandatory gaps inbetween the tests or can you retake straight away?

You can take the exam twice (in alberta anyway)
If you come over with the job offer then you must pass within the 6mths.

Note -- OH passed first time, they did actually call the employer to make sure he was working there and that they was happy with his work before they issued his licence, i hear this is because guys are coming over to sit the exam and then not bothering moving over

You must ofcourse challenge the exam, which means that you have to prove your qualifications and the 9000hrs before they will let you sit the exam, plus pay the fee (it was $450 when we did it)
There is a gap between exams i believe, not sure if it is 30 or 60 days???

Hope that helps
LB

9000hrs? i take it thats your year experience then?

p.s just wanted to know,i know your fellas a sparkey,but did he find the red seal harder or was it basically same stuff we study here?

225 weeks based on 40hrs a week, abit more than a year i would say.
OH had done europe/american systems so he didnt find it that hard, others sparkies have found it real hard, so i suppose like anything it will depend on what you have been doing
In alberta the ticket is for commercial/industrial/domestic so you will get questions on all subjects, your best tool would be to get the code book and read like crazy

LB

so how come o get there you only need a years experience but to actually work or get red seal you need over 4 years??doesnt make sense?
where do you get the code book?

My OH borrowed his from work
But when a expat came into town my OH took him to the local electricial supplier and got him one.
The year experience....are you looking at the SW application and seeing 1yr work experience within canada ???
All i can quote is what you will need for the redseal as that is what OH has, we have gone on our own with our PR as he is redseal, over 1yrs work within canada and has enough points, so we had alot of options open to us, inc his employer.........

Can you pass a link to where it says the 1yr and i maybe able to help?

so am i right in assuming this then?:

ive been a plumber for just over two years now,and on the sw class you need one year experience in your field of work(ie mine,plumber) so i could get out there as a plumber with a job offer and once i got out there i would need to "challenge" the red seal exam within 6 months or else i couldnt work as a plumber anymore, but to take the red seal exam i have to have 9000 hrs(little over 4 years) which i dont have so in essence i have no chance of taking the exam which means there was no point in issuing me a visa and id basically be there on a 6 month max twp??surely if to work legally in your trade(red seal) you need 4 years experience,why would cic allow you to emmigrate with anything less than the required experience instead of the one year which they allow?its like there setting you up for failure

RIGHT......
If you come on a TWP you get the job offer, you apply to the trade body to be approved to challenge the exam, you then get the TWP and start work......within the 6mths of being here you sit the exam, if you fail twice you are out as you are unable to go back to collage.....(the risk that we all take)
Other option.....
You apply for PR as you have one years work experience in the uk, most people have looked into the redseal etc and know that they need the 9000hrs, some havent.....
They arrive here, get told to prove the hours and qualificans, they cant do that as they only have 1yrs etc work experience, so they have to take a apprentaship to gain the redseal or take another job to support the family........

Yeah i know its not right, but its upto you to do your homework, if you havent got 9000hrs, then either gain it back in the uk or come over as PR knowing that you will be on a apprentaship.......
If you dont trust what i am saying speak to the regulated body for the area that you are moving to, believe me without proving to them that you have the qualifications and the hours they wont let you challenge the exam and you wont get the licence.................

Sorry its not what you want to hear, but at least you have the facts
LB