What You'll Find Here
Hiring an Apprentice?
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
Whether you're hiring your first apprentice or trying to understand your responsibilities, ApprenticeshipOntario.ca simplifies the process and helps you find the right path — with real support along the way.
✅ Plain-language explanations
✅ Step-by-step guidance
✅ A breakdown of employer options
✅ Support that fits your business
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
A simple overview showing the steps:
1. Hire or find an apprentice
2. Choose how to register — on your own or with a Group Sponsor
3. Begin on-the-job training
4. Track progress and meet milestones
We walk you through every step, so nothing gets missed.
Did You Know?
How the Apprenticeship Process Works
What Is a Group Sponsor?
- 70%+ of Ontario’s construction workforce is open shop
- The average age of a new apprentice is 29
- Many rural employers don’t know where to start — but they want to
- Group Sponsors are designed to help reduce the administrative burden on employers
What Is a Group Sponsor?
What Is a Group Sponsor?
What Is a Group Sponsor?
A Group Sponsor is an organization that helps multiple employers manage apprenticeship training.
They take care of things like:
- Registering apprentices
- Coordinating in-school training
- Providing mentorship and support
- Handling the admin and paperwork
This shared approach makes it easier for employers to participate and helps apprentices stay on track to complete their training.
Built for Rural Ontario
What Is a Group Sponsor?
Not Sure Where to Start?
Apprenticeship Ontario was built with rural employers in mind — small businesses, independent contractors, and tradespeople who don’t have in-house HR teams or time to sort through government websites.
In Ontario, more than 70% of construction work is done by open shop employers — many of them in rural and small-town communities. Yet, a large portion of apprenticeship opportunities remain untapped in these regions, often because the process feels unclear or too complicated.
You’re already doing the work — building homes, training staff, supporting local economies. We’re here to make sure you have a straightforward way to bring apprentices into that work, with support that fits your business.
Because the future of the skilled trades starts on real job sites .
Not Sure Where to Start?
What Is a Group Sponsor?
Not Sure Where to Start?
Ontario’s skilled trades shortage is growing — and small, independent employers are key to the solution. Nearly 1 in 3 tradespeople are set to retire in the next five years, and yet the majority of apprenticeship opportunities are still concentrated in urban areas or large organizations.
If you’re an open shop employer in a rural or small-town community, you represent untapped potential — but only if the path to apprenticeship is clear and accessible.
That’s where we come in.
We’re here to simplify the process, help you understand your role, and make sure you know exactly how to get involved — without the confusion.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You just need a place to start.