Explore the Skilled Trades with Clarity and Confidence
You don’t need to have it all figured out. At Trade Smart, exploration is built into the process using the Trades Match methodology, your best-fit trade becomes clear, supported, and hands-on.
Try the trades without a 4-year commitment
Jas started down a traditional university path and realized it wasn’t for him. He didn’t want to lock into another four-year program he wasn’t sure about. Trade Smart’s 8-month model (in-class + paid work experience) gave him a real way to try the trades, build skills, and get paid while doing it.
8-month program instead of a 4-year lock-in
Paid technical internship built into the diploma
Safe way to test the trades if you’re not fully sure yet
100% recommended by grads like Jas
“If you’re unsure what you wanna do… this is a great opportunity to try something, and you get paid while doing it.”
We Help You Discover Where You Should Be
Assessment / Discovery / Mentorship
Most schools ask students to commit to a trade before they even understand what it means. At Trade Smart, we flip the script. We use assessments, mentorship, and real-world exposure to help you find a skilled trade that fits you.
Our exclusive Trades Match tool helps identify the trade sectors that align with your natural strengths and learning style, while our company-building exercises, mentorship, and site visits give you firsthand insight into real trades careers.
The Trades Match Methodology
It’s hard to decide what you want to do with your life, especially in the trades. What if you pick the wrong trade? You’ve heard of carpenters, plumbers, and auto mechanics, but are there other trades? Are there any jobs in my trade right now, and do they pay well?
Wouldn’t it be better if you had some answers to these questions before you had to choose your trade?
That’s why we developed the Trades Match methodology at Trade Smart College. It’s more than a single quiz, it’s an integrated and methodical system that finds the optimal trade and pathway for each student.
Broaden Your Perspective
The skilled trades aren’t limited to the few jobs you’ve heard of. In fact, they span across five major sectors: Construction, Transportation, Manufacturing/Industrial, Service, and Digital. At Trade Smart College, we focus on the first three where wages are strongest and demand is steady. Our Trades Match methodology introduces students to a wide range of career paths they may never have considered. Why choose blindly, when you could start your future with a broader, better-informed view of the opportunities ahead?
Assess and Analyse
Every trade in our focus areas requires the same set of foundational technical and professional skills, which form the core of our curriculum. But we don’t stop there. We tailor instruction to each student’s personal strengths and interests. Through a combination of quantitative assessments and purpose mapping, we identify where students are most likely to succeed. Our team also evaluates local labour market data, seasonal work trends, and real-time employer needs to match students with the best-fit pathways for employment.
Connect
Once we understand your strengths, goals, and the market, we get to work placing you in a 6-month paid technical internship aligned with your potential. This is often the most difficult step getting that first real opportunity. But at Trade Smart College, our Lead Instructor and Internship Coordinator act as your personal advocates, working with local employers to secure placements. You’re not just being trained you’re being represented. And through Trades Match, that first job can become the start of a long-term, fulfilling career.
Start Smarter with
Trades Match
Not sure which trade is right for you? You’re not alone and that’s exactly why we built Trades Match.
Choosing a skilled trade shouldn’t feel like a shot in the dark. Our Trades Match assessment helps you identify the trade paths that align with your mindset, strengths, and goals so you can skip the guesswork and start with confidence.
- Discover which trades fit you best
- Get a personalized skillset profile
- Use your results to guide your next step
Trades Match Assessment
Why we chose Trade Smart over a traditional 2-year college
Sasha and her son Adam looked at the standard 2-year programs: lots of classroom time, some lab work, and then maybe finding an apprenticeship. Trade Smart felt different. It offered a shorter, more practical path that connects students directly to real employers instead of just hoping it works out.
Less sitting, more doing – built around real work, not just theory
Clear path into jobsite experience instead of “wait and see”
Designed for students who don’t want a big, traditional campus
Gives parents a clearer picture of what happens after graduation
“He didn’t want to sit in a classroom for two years and then maybe find a job. Trade Smart really offered a much more practical approach.”
Learning Doesn’t Just Happen in the Classroom.
It Happens on the Jobsite.
From Week One, Trade Smart students are exposed to real worksite environments including programs like Habitat for Humanity build days and company speaker visits. These experiences let you observe trades in action electrical, HVAC, plumbing, general construction and start making informed decisions about your future.
We also guide students in understanding trades beyond the “big five,” expanding your options and your confidence.
You Don’t Need to Know Everything. You Just Need to Start Exploring.
Exploration isn’t a detour it’s the foundation. You’re not just choosing a trade. You’re finding your future, and it starts at Trade Smart College.
Got Questions? Let’s Talk
Whether you’re a student, parent, or company we’d love to hear from you.
We’ll guide you through next steps, walk you through start dates, costs, and internship details. This form connects you with a team member who can give you answers, options, and everything you need to move forward.
Campus Hours
- Mon- Fri: 7am- 5pm
- Open House - See Schedule