The Red Seal Program, formally known as the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program, is a program that sets common standards to assess the skills of tradespeople across Canada. 

Industry is heavily involved in developing the national standard for each trade. The program is a partnership between the federal government and provinces/territories, which are responsible for apprenticeship training and trade certification in their jurisdictions.

Tradespersons who have successfully passed the Red Seal examination receive a Red Seal Endorsement (RSE) on their provincial/territorial trade certificate. Anyone holding a valid Red Seal endorsement may use RSE on their business cards and signatures (e.g. Jane or John Doe, RSE).

Programme des normes interprovinciales Sceau rouge | Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program

Quality standards are the backbone of the Red Seal Program. 

They provide all partners with industry’s guideposts for describing the trade, for designing useful and consistent apprenticeship training tools, and for developing fair and consistent tools for assessment. 

Standards for the Red Seal Program have the following objectives:

• to describe and group the tasks performed by skilled workers;
• to identify which tasks are performed in every province and territory;
• to develop instruments for use in the preparation of Interprovincial Red Seal examinations and assessment tools for apprenticeship and certification authorities;
• to facilitate the mobility of apprentices and skilled workers in Canada; and,
• to supply employers, employees, associations, industries, training institutions and governments with analyses of occupations.

Red Seal Occupational Standards outline everything that a tradesperson needs to know about their trade. This includes:  

• trade activities
• skills and knowledge requirements
• summary of essential skills
• safety information
• trends affecting the trade
• technical terms
• names of tools and equipment
• acronyms

When and where is the training?

Skilled Trades NB offers the training at NBCC Saint John.

The following are the tentative training dates for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Level 1: November 2 – December 18, 2026

Enrollment dates: July 27 – October 29, 2026

Level 4: January 4 – February 12, 2027

Enrollment dates: September 28 – December 21, 2026

Level 2: February 22 – March 26, 2027

Enrollment dates: November 16, 2026 – February 8, 2027

Employers and apprentices must have individual accounts set up in Skilled Trades NB’s Apprenticeship Management System (AMS). Employers must ensure that the apprentice’s work hours and mandatory skills are updated so the apprentice is eligible to enroll in training.

 Apprenticeship Management System (AMS) - gnb.ca  

Text books cost approx. $400. For those that are EI eligible, this cost is covered by government. The cost of the training is $85 per week. Upon successful completion of each level, this tuition is reimbursed to the student. For those on EI, benefits are paid during the course. There are $1000 incentive bonuses following successful completion of level 1 and 2 as well as an addition $2000 incentive after successful completion of the red seal exam. For those that are eligible there is the opportunity to receive an apprenticeship loan. click here for more information.