# Looking for advise from electrician in Toronto, ontario



## VoltJames (Nov 1, 2012)

Keep checking the JAC website once a week. The intake should happen any time now. If you get in, you may have to wait up to a year before you'll get sent out to work so hopefully you'll find something to do in the meantime. I applied last year and I waited for 6 months. I replied to a bunch of how to join the union as an apprentice for Toronto before; just click on my profile and look for my earlier postings.

Good luck! The competition is stiff here but once you're in, the union benefit plan and pension is amazing too. Especially for the family man since what you have, your spouse and kid(s) will have too at no extra charge!


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## Tomacoma (Feb 26, 2014)

Thanks voltjames i will continue checking there website. Since your in already in how do you like it so far?

And what is the starting pay like for a pre apprentice?


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## VoltJames (Nov 1, 2012)

Tomacoma said:


> Thanks voltjames i will continue checking there website. Since your in already in how do you like it so far?
> 
> And what is the starting pay like for a pre apprentice?


So far, the experience is great! I haven't regretted one bit quitting my office job. The first few years will be rough financially and physically since you will be expected to do all the grunt work. If you end up in a large company, you will be cleaning and moving material all day. If you end up in a medium or smaller company, you may be doing some real work. I'm lucky so far doing real work even though I ended up in a larger company. But I will be sent to another team after a year and if it's a large project, I'll end up cleaning too!

It's a trade off if you ask me. If you are in a larger company you might learn less but you may become a permanent fixture in the company vs getting laid off at a smaller company.

You better have some sort of savings already and/or that your wife works. Your starting pay is $13.74 + 10% vacation pay (there will be a raise of some sort next month). By 3rd term (beginning of 4th year) you'll have more food on the table. 

http://www.ibew353.org/newsletters/WagesMay2013ICI.pdf


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

Let's be really honest, Ontario has a shaky future, high cost of living and electricians are paid crap money there if they aren't union. If you can get into the JAC by all means go for it, however I think you should know that a large number of people apply and only about 110-150 might be selected. This occurs once or twice a year. 

One other way you can get into local 353 which doesn't get talked about a lot is if you go to some union company directly where they hire you and make you a "sponsored" apprentice. There are some drawbacks to this, like having to stay with that company until you become a journeyman, but it's still a path in. If you call and ask them about that I doubt they'll tell you much. The idea is someone who "already works for the company" and now wants to get into the trade has a pathway. So you do some miscellaneous non-electrical work for the company(like around the shop or whatever) for a few weeks or months or whatever and then get set up.

In the mean time I would keep trying wherever possible. I would also think about, as an alternative to electrical, being a refrigeration mechanic. Those guys have a good trade too and even during a recession people cannot have air conditioning or refrigerating equipment fail on them.


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## ThatApprentice (Dec 7, 2013)

I Know where you are coming from. I graduate high school when i was 17 then went straight to the JAC...only to find out i didn't make it. about 800 guys applied (most of them i saw looked about late 20's early 30's) only around 100 were hired. Then i did a two year program with my local community college. Now i'll be starting out as an apprentice this monday. The JAC does not have a certain date when they do intake as it's based on the labour demand. The best bet would be to keep calling around shops or better yet walk into the shops and talk to the owner face to face, that would be better than calling. If all fails, move to alberta, a lot of 1st year electrical apprentices are needed there and are paid well too. just look at the job posting on indeed.com or any other job posting website.


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