Floorcovering

Overview

For many years this occupation was not recognized or even designated as a trade. For years the classification was the same as labourer. The apprenticeship program was introduced in 1968 and a certificate of qualification became available in 1971. Since then it has been a recognized trade. When this trade was first designated, it was a three year course, which consisted of three years of technical training and a minimum of 4800 hours of practical experience. In 1984, it was changed to two years of technical training and a minimum of 3200 hours of practical experience.Then in 2000, it was again changed back to a three year apprenticeship with two years of technical training and a minimum of 4800 hours of practical experience.

There are several advantages of the trade; clean work(most of the work is performed indoors), steady employment(it is not seasonal work), two year training course(When you become a registered apprentice, you have the opportunity to attend technical training. You will receive Employment Insurance while attending technical training if you qualify. This is a two year course, the first year consisting of 7 weeks, the second year consisting of 6 weeks. There are no long years or large personal investments to struggle with.), comfortable job(It's all inside work, no frigid winter temperatures to work in.), little dependency on other trades(the bulk of the floorcovering volume is done on established homes and businesses.), low compensation rates (as far as accidents, or claims these are minimal.), employment (approximately 90% of the journeymen are self-employed, making them one of the most independent building trades.), and finishing jobs (since floorcovering is a finishing job, nothing can be hidden, therefore the flooring installer must take a lot of pride in the work he does.)

The Floorcovering Installer trade is also an Inter-provincial Red Seal trade. For more information on the Red Seal Certification, please visit the web site www.red-seal.ca/