# question in regards to red seal exam



## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

I'm a bit confused as well... don't you write the Red Seal after (or along with) the 4th year exam? As far as eligibility with a new employer, as long as you transfer your apprenticeship to them then it shouldn't matter.


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## zeppelin9966 (Feb 19, 2019)

Hey thanks for the response. Yes you do your block 4 and then your red seal a week after. I reside in Canada by the way. But I heard you can only get your 309a license doing strictly commercial work and industrial work would not count towards your block hours. I also heard once you get your 309a that you can then decide to switch over to industrial and once you work 1000 hours you can then write your industrial red seal exam and get a 442a license? I could be wrong but I just want to make sure that if I take this industrial job that my hours will still count towards getting my 309a license despite it not being commercial work.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

@zeppelin9966, I would call your MTCU and ask them. You have to work under a journeyman with a license so if you go industrial and there are no 309A journeyman, the hours may not count.


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## The_Modifier (Oct 24, 2009)

zeppelin9966 said:


> But I heard you can only get your 309a


Whoever told you that is wrong- the 309A can do work in ALL sectors of electrical installations. Hence the name Construction and Maintenance.:vs_cool:

Play Safe and good luck when you all write.

And put your Province in your profiles please you two.


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

The_Modifier said:


> Whoever told you that is wrong- the 309A can do work in ALL sectors of electrical installations. Hence the name Construction and Maintenance.:vs_cool:
> 
> Play Safe and good luck when you all write.
> 
> And put your Province in your profiles please you two.


You can only get your 309A if your working under a licenced 309A, reguardless if you doing industrial, residential or commercial work.

If you are an apprentice working in industrial for a company that does not have any 309A journeyman, that company can not sponsor you and your hours will not count towards a 309A licence.


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## Rora (Jan 31, 2017)

If you have any doubts with things like accreditation, certification, or licenses, then you absolutely need to contact the issuing authority (I believe in this case, that would be the apprenticeship entity for your province). This is your career we're talking about and you want the best information available, don't trust it to "I heard" from people who have no skin in the game... get it straight from the horses mouth. If the person you talk to from the authority doesn't seem knowledgeable, then contact again later and try to get someone else.

Speaking from personal experience here... I also had a nuanced situation with my apprenticeship and was fortunate enough to talk with a lady that had 10+ years there who was able to offer not only very reliable information, but also additional advice. Best of luck!


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## zeppelin9966 (Feb 19, 2019)

Thank you for all the responses. So one more important detail I should add is I currently reside in New Brunswick and this job is in Ontario. Now in New Brunswick, we only need 7200 hours to be eligible to write our block4/red seal exams. In Ontario, it seems to be 9000 hours. Does Ontario have to do block exams? Because I've already completed 3 block exams, I don't know if that bumps me up the ladder in terms of writing my red seal in Ontario. The other thing is there is no schooling in Ontario you just pay and apply to write your red seal once you have the work hours you need where as in New Brunswick you have to do 7 weeks of school and write your block 4 after week 6 and red seal after week 7. Best case scenario in that situation in the job is willing to give me a leave of absence to come home for seven weeks and write it once I hit the 7200 hour mark.ive made countless phone calls already in regards to this issue and just get the run around and transfer after transfer to another individual who has no idea which is why I'm looking on here


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## eddy current (Feb 28, 2009)

There is schooling in Ontario but only 3 levels, not 4. It is also 9000 hours of work before you can write the C of Q. Also, Industrial electrician is not a compulsory trade here so many guys do not even have a licence because they don’t have to have one for industrial work. You need to contact the MTCU in Ontario and talk to them. You might have to write an equivalency test to bypass the schooling here. The company in Ontario will have to sponsor you as an apprentice for your hours to count and like I said before, if they don’t have a 309A journeyman, they can not sign you in that trade.


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