Trade Certificate Holder Earnings
New Evidence on the Early Career Earnings of Trade Certificate Holders
Why we're doing this project
This extensive new evidence on the earnings of journeypersons (trade certificate holders) will help students make important decisions when pursuing education and training. Reliable information also helps institutions, policy-makers, researchers and the broader Canadian public make more informed decisions. This project recognizes the important role that skilled trades play in Canada and complements our previous work on the earnings of post-secondary graduates.
What the project is about
LMIC partnered with the Education Policy Research Initiative to provide new and comprehensive evidence on the early career earnings of Canadian journeypersons. Data from the Education and Labour Market Longitudinal Platform anonymously links individuals in apprenticeship programs with tax information from the Canada Revenue Agency.
What we found
Individuals with certificates in Red Seal trades earn on average $64,000 in their first year, growing to reach $73,800 eight years after certification. Earnings vary considerably depending on the trade. However, across all Red Seal trades, in the first year following certification, women earn on average $31,400—just 47% of the $67,000 that men earn. Men account for most journeypersons except in what’s called the “other” category, which includes hairstylists, cooks and bakers.
The findings and data can be customized and explored through various tools, including the following: