Automotive Technician

Pathways

There are several ways of beginning your new career as an automotive technician apprentice:

1. Take our Automotive Technician Foundation, Honda/Acura Foundation, or Toyota Foundation program. By working through a series of practical projects and assignments and theory assignments you'll build a solid foundation of knowledge and skills to make you more employable in an entry-level position. By successfully completing one of these foundation programs, you will also receive credit for the in-school portion of Level 1 of our Automotive Technician Apprenticeship training.
2. Take the ASTO Co-op or Ford ASSET Co-op program. These programs are comprised of four technical training terms with two paid 22-week co-op work terms. Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive an Automotive Service Technician and Operations Diploma and qualify for credit towards all four levels of technical training requirements in the Provincial Automotive Service Technician Apprenticeship program and 2000 hours of time service requirement.
3. Find employment under an automotive technician who will register you with SkilledTradesBC. In this option, you are indentured to a company as an apprentice automotive technician, learning basic skills while you are employed. The advantage here is that you earn while you learn.

Entrance requirements

You must be an active apprentice registered with SkilledTradesBC to register for apprenticeship training at BCIT.

Recommended for success

High school graduation or equivalent, including:

• English 12 or English language proficiency
• Apprenticeship and Workplace Math 11 or Trades Math 11
• Applied Physics 11 or Science and Technology 11

Apprentices with medical or physical difficulties should contact Accessibility Services to arrange an interview with the Institute’s rehabilitation specialist.

International applicants

BCIT welcomes apprentice training requests from Canadian citizens and permanent residents only. View programs that accept international students

Scheduled Intakes

Multiple start dates each year.

Please refer to the Apprenticeship Training Schedule for availability of upcoming intakes.

Register for Apprentice Training

To register for apprentice training:

1. Consult the training schedule to find a date that is suitable to both you and your employer.
2. Create your BCIT ID if you don’t already have one.
3. Register by phone or email.
4. Pay the $200 commitment fee.

Disclosure of personal information & privacy notice

BCIT Apprentice Services reserves the right to communicate with SkilledTradesBC and your active employer sponsor about your registration, progress, and related academic information. BCIT also shares apprentice registration information with Work BC. If you have questions about the protection of your personal information, you may contact the BCIT Information Access and Privacy Office.

View our full Admissions and Registration Privacy Notice

myCommunication

Within two business days of submitting your apprentice training request, BCIT will send a message to your personal and myBCIT e-mail addresses. All correspondence regarding your training request will be posted to your online myCommunication account at my.bcit.ca. We'll send you an e-mail when a new message is posted. It's important to watch for these e-mails or regularly check your account online.

You can expect to receive communication concerning the status of your training request within four weeks.

Tuition fees

Use our tuition estimator to find tuition and fees for this program.

For more information on tuition and fees, visit Apprenticeship Training Tuition & Fees.

Books & supplies

CSA approved safety glasses and footwear required. Footwear must be steel-toed, leather, ankle covering boots.

Students are required to supply their own coveralls. A supply of coveralls is available through the BCIT Bookstore. Please check the Uniform Authorization Voucher [PDF] to determine the type of coveralls required for your program.

There is an approved book list for the automotive technician apprenticeship. These books are available at the BCIT Bookstore on the Burnaby campus.

The Automotive Technician apprenticeship includes home study that apprentices are required to complete during each level of their technical training. The home study material is available at the BCIT Bookstore and should be bought by the apprentice prior to each level of technical training.

Financial assistance

Income support for apprentices is provided by Human Resource Development Canada (HRDC) through regular Employment Insurance (EI) eligibility. For questions regarding Employment Insurance or Personal Support Payments, please visit the income support overview for current BCIT apprentices.

Class hours

0730-1400, Monday through Friday

Please refer to the Apprenticeship Training Schedule for class hours and availability of upcoming intakes.

Program matrix

Transfer credit

Do you have credits from another BC/Yukon post-secondary school? Do you want to know if they transfer to courses here at BCIT? Check out BCIT's Transfer Equivalency Database to find out.

Program length

The total amount of in-school, technical training for an Automotive Technician apprentice is 840 hours. There are four levels of technical training; each is seven weeks.

Grading

Minimum passing grade is 70 percent.

Program delivery

Blended: This program is delivered partly on campus and partly online.

Program location

Burnaby Campus
3700 Willingdon Avenue
Burnaby, BC

Graduate employment outcomes

The BCIT student outcomes report presents summary findings from the annual survey of former students administered by BC Stats one to two years after graduation. These reports combine the last three years of available results for the 2021-2023 BCIT Outcomes Surveys of 2020-2022 graduates and for Degree 2019-2021 graduates. The reports are organized into three-page summaries containing information on graduates’ labour market experiences and opinions regarding their education. More detailed information can be accessed at the BC Student Outcomes website.

To view these results, you may need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your Web browser.

• Automotive Technician

Credential

BCIT offers a Diploma of Trades Training for apprentices who have successfully completed their technical training at BCIT and have been granted a British Columbia Trades Qualification (IP/TQ). In trades where there is no requirement to complete a Trades Qualification (TQ), a Certificate of Apprenticeship is acceptable. Please see the BCIT apprenticeship training section of the website for more information.

BCIT Apprentice Services

For more information on this or other apprenticeship programs, tuition fees and when programs are offered, please contact BCIT Apprentice Services at:

Office Location:	Building SW1, First Floor Burnaby campus
Phone:	604-456-8100 1-800-667-0676 (BC)
Fax:	604-435-1197
On the web:	bcit.ca/apprenticeship

BCIT Apprentice Services can assist apprentices with their registration, tuition fee payments, and other details.

Anyone interested in registering as an apprentice can contact SkilledTradesBC at 778-328-8700 or 1-866-660-6011 (BC). BCIT's Apprentice Services can also assist individuals interested in entering apprentice training.