Skilled Trades

The trades that built Alberta - still hiring, still paying well.

Welders, electricians, power engineers, heavy duty mechanics, instrumentation techs. Apprenticeships through journeyman, with regional employers who sponsor your tickets.

Apprenticeship registration support
Red Seal pathways
$28–$58/hr starting
Employer-paid training

Browse trades roles

780

Open trade roles

$92K

Median journeyman

+24%

Welder demand

Top trades hiring now

Six trades with the strongest demand in 2025.

Welding (B-pressure)

Pipeline, structural, and shop welding. B-pressure tickets in highest demand.

$42–$58/hr

Electrician

Industrial, commercial and residential. Master electricians command top dollar.

$38–$54/hr

Power Engineer 3rd/4th

Operating boilers and pressure vessels in plants across the region.

$36–$48/hr

Heavy Duty Mechanic

Trucks, ag equipment, and oilfield gear. Mobile and shop roles.

$34–$46/hr

Instrumentation Tech

Calibrate and troubleshoot control systems in refineries and plants.

$40–$52/hr

Class 1 Driver

Long haul, super-B, and oilfield hauling. Sign-on bonuses common.

$28–$38/hr

Industrial electricians wire up new processing facilities across the corridor every month.

Apprenticeship pathway

Earn while you learn - the Alberta way.

Register with AIT

Apprenticeship & Industry Training pairs you with a sponsoring employer in weeks.

8-week tech training/year

Most trades alternate 8 weeks of classroom with on-the-job hours across 3–4 years.

Earn 60–90% from day one

Apprentice wages step up each year - most earn full journeyman pay by year 3.

Red Seal portability

Tickets earned here work in every province and territory in Canada.

Where to train locally

Red Deer Polytechnic delivers the largest trades programs outside Calgary/Edmonton.

Funded PPE & tools

Most employers in the region cover initial tools, PPE and code books.

Who's hiring

The shops and sites with the biggest crews.

Pembina, Plains, Tidewater

Pipeline and processing - instrumentation, electrical and welding on rotation or local.

Finning, Brandt, Wajax

Heavy-equipment dealers running mobile and shop HD mechanic teams.

Western Energy Services

Drilling and completions roughnecks, derrickhands and rig managers.

Sylvan Lake Manufacturing

Welders, fitters and painters for industrial fabrication shops.

ATCO Electric & Fortis

Powerline techs, substation electricians and apprentices.

Local home builders

Carpenters, plumbers and HVAC techs in residential and commercial growth corridors.

Newer trades worth a look

Tickets the next decade will need most.

Demand projections for 2030 favour these emerging trade categories.

Wind technicians

Climbing, blade and turbine specialists at TransAlta and BHE Canada sites.

Robotics & automation millwrights

Programming and maintaining automation lines at regional manufacturers.

Modular & prefab builders

Factory-built housing booming across the region - carpenters and framers in demand.

Red Seal programs

Red Deer Polytechnic

Western Canada's busiest trades campus outside the metros.

RDP delivers 23 Red Seal trades programs with employer-sponsored seats, evening intakes and dedicated newcomer cohorts.

Welding, electrical, HD mechanic, instrumentation
Apprentice → journeyman in 3–4 years
Most tuition recoverable via AB grants

From around the region

The shops, sites and crews behind the work.

Residential & commercial build

Carpenters, plumbers, HVAC

Pipeline corridors

Pembina, Plains, Tidewater hiring

Apprentice cohorts

Earn while you learn

"I walked out of high school into a sponsored apprenticeship. Five years later I'm a journeyman electrician making $112K and I own a house."

Tyler M.

Journeyman Electrician · Lacombe

Ready to take the next step?

Talk to a specialist or get started in minutes - no commitment.