Changes to the delivery of apprenticeship and certifying exam services

Due to system maintenance, the Skilled Trades Ontario Portal and the Public Register will be unavailable from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on March 6th, 2025. We apologize for any inconvenience.

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Changes to the delivery of apprenticeship and certifying exam services

Overview

Starting April 2, 2025, Skilled Trades Ontario (STO) will be your first point of contact for apprenticeship registrations and completions, certifying exam and certification services.

We are making this change as smooth as possible to ensure little to no disruption to services. The STO Portal will continue to be the primary platform for apprentices and sponsors to register and manage their apprenticeship information.

What’s changing

Starting April 2, 2025, Skilled Trades Ontario will take on the following administrative responsibilities:

Registering apprenticeship training agreements and authorizing sponsors.
Administering certifying exams through Prometric, a third-party exam provider.
Issuing Certificates of Apprenticeship upon program completion.

Certain responsibilities will remain with the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD), including:

Administration of the Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program (OYAP) and pre-apprenticeship programs.
Administration of in-school training and funding for training delivery partners.
Financial administration for apprenticeship-related grants and support programs

Beginning in March 2025, eligible exam candidates will be able to schedule their exams for dates on or after April 2, 2025, through Skilled Trades Ontario and STO’s new exam delivery service partner, Prometric Canada. More details will be provided directly to eligible exam candidates and on STO’s website. For questions, please contact Skilled Trades Ontario by phone at 647-847-3000, or Toll Free in Ontario at 1-855-299-0028, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST.

What to expect until April 2, 2025

For now, there are no immediate changes and services will continue as usual:

Apprentices and sponsors will:
- Apply for apprenticeship programs and register training agreements through the STO Portal.
- Work with MLITSD for registration and apprenticeship support.
- Schedule certifying exams through Employment Ontario Apprenticeship Offices

MLITSD will:
- Oversee certifying exams.
- Review program completion requests and issue Certificates of Apprenticeship

After April 2, the registration and management of apprenticeship information will still be accessible through the STO Portal.