ste1070

Hi,

Can anyone clarify if I am able to sit RED SEAL exam for industrial electrician whilst being a UK resident. i.e. once eligible (experience hours etc) can I go over and sit it? I am reading that you cannot sit without a Canadian ID. Based on the new FSTC it is either a job offer or certificate of qualification (which I gather is Red Seal). Suspect if I can't then they are going to have to review this criteria as nobody will be able to attain it unless Canadian Resident but you can't get the visa without it. Vicious circle??

Many thanks

Steve

Nishama

Hi Steve,
I was in your position last year. I visited canada and sat for the exam after the qualifying interview. I had to prove that I had the work experienc/work hours etc. I did not have a Canadian ID but they created some sort of a ID number to do the exam. My trade is different but I got 82% and passed in one go. I admit that I did a lot of reading before writing the exam. I had no Canadian experience at all. I just visited Canada for the first time. After three weeks I came back to Australia. But will be heading back soon as I just got a positive LMO and a job offer from Canada.
I do not know if the system changed since then.
Good luck
Nishama

ste1070

Hi, thanks for that. Did they seem quite co-operative regarding this? I.e it was quite a common thing they do? Did you send in your paperwork with experience etc prior to attending and was then allowed to sit exam? Where did you sit it? Many thanks
Steve

Piff Poff

You might get issued with a work permit at the border. OH did when he went to do his mechanics exam.

ste1070

Did he just go over to do this without any job offer?

Jean2011

My husband made contact with SAIT in Calgary re Red Seal exam, initial contact with them was through a UK immigration show, they were very helpful. He purchased modules and studied, got all his paperwork notarised re number of hours requirement then travelled to Canada from the UK to sit exam, he then did some job/area research while in Canada and ended up with a job offer from a company who were prepared for LMO route, we had already applied for PR before this. Getting the Red Seal qualification was worth the hassle in our case Good Luck.

ste1070

This seems to be the stumbling block, getting an employer to entertain the LMO process. Is your husband electrician?

Piff Poff

He did have a job offer and we were waiting on a LMO. He wanted to see what the exam was going to be like before we moved lock stock and barrel. We were advised that he could just go and sit the exam and then come back on a visitors permit. He bought a return ticket for a one week stay with the exam booked in the week. At entry he was issued with a three month WP, during which time he was told he HAD to pass the exam for it to be extended. I`m sure you can imagine the panic, our house wasn`t even up for sale

Nishama

Hi Steve,
I did the test in Toronto. They were helpful. They sent all the details by email when I made the inquiries before hedding to Canada. They did not confirm if I could sit or not. I had to face the interview in person. Then only I could make a booking to write the exam.
Thanks.

ste1070

I gather it doesn't matter where you take it as inter provincial. Did you have a job offer prior to looking into it? Could you give me contact details? Many thanks.

Aviator

In essence a 'Red Seal' exam does not exist. Red Seal endorses the provincial examinations of the training authorities in each province. You would deal with a provincial training authority who would administer the exam and to whom you would sent all your credentials and application. The Red Seal organisation is run jointly by the provinces that participate.

If your trade is Red Seal recognized, then any qualification is valid in all the provinces that participate. Not all provinces have the same rules, so check before sitting the exam.

lindamchugh

Hi my husband is planning to sit the elec examin Jan or feb, could he possibly be offered at airport a 3 month work permit without job offer and LMO?

Aviator

He won't get a work permit without an employer getting a LMO first and then he could get a TWP. This assumes the employer has tried to hire Canadians first.

The only exception is the working holiday permit if he is 30 or under.

Tim Nice

Hello 1st post for me. I know I will be on here a lot.

Can any one confirm that the Red Seal exam is only multiple-choice questions?

How do you prove the 9000 hours and is that just study or study + experience?

and can I sit the exam if I went over on a holiday visa?

Thanks for any help

Aviator

You can sit the exam on a holiday visa, the training authority need to assign you a number. It is 9000 hours of work experience, provable with pay stubs, letters from employers, records of employment etc. This is time on the job (actually working), not classroom or study time.