Skilled Trades and Maintenance

Overview

School maintenance and repairs are done by both skilled and unskilled trades. They assist districts from minor repairs to major renovations of school buildings, grounds and equipment. If you’re an individual who’s handy with a hammer and has a penchant for working with tools, BC schools can provide you a rewarding career. See the product of your hard work and labour in a well maintained school.

Example job titles of skilled trades:

Carpenter
Plumber
Electrician
Gas Fitter
HVAC Technician
Horticulturalist

Example job titles of unskilled trades:

Custodians
Grounds People
General Labourers

Certification and Qualification Details

For all TQ Trades positions Trades qualifications are required. Requirements for other positions may require some specialized training.

Salary

Support Staff in BC’s K-12 Education Sector are members of their local support staff union. The terms of employment, including hours of work, will vary depending on the district, the collective agreement, and the type of position held by the employee. Some districts have applied for and received temporary labour market adjustment hourly increases for specific positions to address the recruitment and retention difficulty of certain position; these adjustments are not reflected in the wages below.

The following are salary estimates based on data from August 1, 2009. Salaries and hourly rates vary from district to district.

Support Staff Position	Hourly Wage Ranges	Avg. Wage Rates
Carpenter	Min: $22.57 - Max: $34.03	Avg: $28.21
Custodian	Min: $17.61 - Max: $24.74	Avg: $20.73
Electrician	Min: $22.57 – Max: $34.03	Avg: $28.40
Foreman	Min: $25.26 – Max: $36.10	Avg: $29.72
HVAC Technician	Min: $22.57 – Max: $34.03	Avg: $28.28
Painter	Min: $22.57 – Max: $34.03	Avg: $27.91
Plumber	Min: $22.57 – Max: $34.03	Avg: $28.44
Welder	Min: $22.57 – Max: $34.03	Avg: $28.09

The positions listed above are just a few of the many support staff positions in the sector.

Training and Educational Programs

Programs in British Columbia:

Carpenter	British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Camosun College College of New Caledonia College of the Rockies Kwantlen Polytechnic University Vancouver Island University Okanagan College Selkirk College University of the Fraser Valley
Plumber	British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Camosun College Thompson Rivers University College of New Caledonia North Island College Northern Lights College College of the Rockies Kwantlen Polytechnic University University of the Fraser Valley
Electrician	British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) North Island College Northwest Community College Kwantlen Polytechnic University Thompson Rivers University Camosun College Selkirk College College of New Caledonia College of the Rockies University of the Fraser Valley Vancouver Island University
Gas Fitter	British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Vancouver Island University Thompson Rivers University
HVAC	British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) Vancouver Island University Camosun College
Horticulturalist	Vancouver Island University Thompson Rivers University University of the Fraser Valley Camosun College College of New Caledonia Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Custodians / Maintenance Workers	Northwest Community College College of New Caledonia Camosun College