There are 144 recognized trades in Ontario. Out of all of these possibilities, where are the best opportunities to get started in a great career? Also, how do you get that first shot when companies won’t hire you without experience? At Trade Smart College, using our exclusive Trades Match © program, we find you a 950-hour paid technical internship with one of our partner companies. So you learn real-world skills and have real-world experience before you even graduate. Whether you’re interested in a career in construction, manufacturing, or transportation, we offer the smarter path to the trades.
Every road, building and machine that powers your life exists because of skilled tradespeople. These people don’t just have jobs—they are the bedrock of every industry. Whether you’re building skyscrapers, constructing assembly lines or maintaining the vehicles and equipment that drive the economy, the trades offer more than a paycheck—they offer purpose, pride, and progress. In the trades, the ones who rise and carve out long, successful careers are the professionals—the ones who show up, think ahead, and master both their craft and their work ethic. At Trade Smart College, we don’t just teach the trades—we prepare you to thrive in them. With 950 hours of paid work experience before graduation, we turn ambition into expertise and opportunity into career success. The world is built by those who are ready—are you?
At Trade Smart College, we prepare students for success in the skilled trades by providing a blended approach of technical and professional knowledge and skills. We achieve this by integrating team-based learning, where students not only develop hands-on techniques but also advance in essential communication, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities.
Need more info? Looking to register? Want to find out about financing or start dates? Book a call, meeting, or text chat with Carrie our Student Success Manager.
The Student Employment Path (STEP) at Trade Smart College is our unique curriculum, built to help great people get started in the trades. In this Diploma program, students spend two months in class, followed by six months on a technical internship.
Month 1-2:
Trade Skills Boot Camp
Spend two months in class learning the core competencies that make great employees prepared, focused, and reliable. In most cases, people who don’t have these skills get disciplined or fired long before people who don’t have highly developed technical skills on the tools.
Month 2-2.5:
Technical Internship Evaluation
After passing your classes, you have two weeks to earn a paid technical internship from your placement company. You need to demonstrate that you are prepared, focused and reliable for that company to accept you as a paid intern.
Month 2.5-8:
Paid Technical Internship
For the rest of your program, you will be working for your placement company and learning the technical skills of your trade. We continue to support you and the company throughout the paid technical internship, to ensure that things run smoothly for both sides.
In our 8 month program, students spend the first 2 months in class learning the professional skills that are crucial to be prepared, focused and reliable. Students who are successful in class are then given 2 weeks to earn it on-site with a company. If the company agrees that the student demonstrated that they are prepared, focused, and reliable at the end of those 2 weeks, they will then move into a 6 month paid internship with the company. We provide full support to the student and employer throughout the entire internship. At the end of the program, students gain valuable hands-on experience and companies gain an asset to their prepared, focussed, and reliable team.
It starts with the uniform. In the trades, a full uniform is the starting point for every job. From there, we make sure our students are self-motivated, to happily take on the work that needs to get done.
We begin by ensuring our students keep track of their time, so they are used to filling out timesheets before getting to a job site. We then instill in them the importance of doing quality work, and putting in the effort to make that happen.
Reliability starts with showing up early. Every day. From there we teach students how to be accountable for their actions and efforts. Trades work is teamwork, so we ensure our students understand that integrity is the foundation of effective teams.
When we say, “Learn It”, this is what we mean. Our students learn the core competencies listed below so that they are prepared, focused and reliable when they show up to the jobsite. And there’s a reason we teach these topics. They are what companies have told us they want in new employees.
Whether you’re a prospective student, a parent or a company, we want to hear from you and put you in touch with one of our team members as soon as possible. We feel it is important to answer your questions one-on-one, so you can make informed decisions about joining us on our mission to connect students and companies. Please fill out the form, and we will get back to you very soon.
If you’re a student thinking about applying to Trade Smart College, we’ve created a space for you to find out a lot more about our Diploma, and what you can expect both in-class and on your internship. Let’s start the process.
A lot of local companies are asking us about becoming Trade Smart certified. If you are one of them, please take a moment to look through this section. It lays out the benefits and requirements of our approval process, as well how you can support the apprenticeship pathway and get great new candidates into the industry.
If you have a student who is thinking about coming to Trade Smart College, you probably have a lot of questions. We’ve created a resource section for parents to find out more about the College, the details and costs of our Diploma, and our unique approach to getting students jobs.
Whether you’re a prospective student, a parent or a company, we want to hear from you and put you in touch with one of our team members as soon as possible. We feel it is important to answer your questions one-on-one, so you can make informed decisions about joining us on our mission to connect students and companies. Please fill out the form, and we will get back to you very soon.