Carpenter-joiner

As of July 18, 2013, a regulatory change affects the trade of carpenter-joiner. This change facilitates and accelerates access to the provincial qualification examination for workers wishing to work in a specialty in the trade of carpenter-joiner.

Workers may also undertake an apprenticeship in order to obtain the journeyman competency certificate (JCC) for the trade of carpenter-joiner.

How to specialize

Apprentices may register for the provincial qualification examination in a specialty when they have accumulated 4,000 apprenticeship hours in one or another of the following three specialties:

Flooring specialist sander
Concrete former
Deep foundation layer

Once they have passed the exam, apprentices obtain a JCC limited to their specialty.

Having obtained their specialization, apprentices may, if they wish, continue their apprenticeship for a supplementary 2,000 hours in order to register for the provincial qualification examination for carpenter-joiner and obtain a JCC to practise the trade of carpenter-joiner with no limitations. However, the 2,000 hours of their third apprenticeship period will have to be completed as a carpenter-joiner. The hours worked in one or another of the specialties will not be counted for this third period.

Specialization not obligatory

Specialization is not obligatory. Apprentices who have accumulated 4,000 hours of apprenticeship as a carpenter-joiner may simply continue their apprenticeship for the final 2,000 hours in the same way. When they have accumulated 6,000 hours of apprenticeship, they may register for the provincial qualification examination for the trade of carpenter-joiner. Once they have passed the exam, they will obtain the JCC for the trade of carpenter-joiner.

However, workers who have completed 4,000 hours of apprenticeship in one of the specialties must have accumulated at least 2,000 hours performing tasks related to the grade of carpenter-joiner (except for those in the specialties).

After 6,000 hours of apprenticeship in the trade of carpenter-joiner, apprentices are required to take the qualification exam for this trade. If they pass the exam, they obtain their (unlimited) carpenter-joiner JCC.
After 4,000 hours of apprenticeship in one of the specialties of the trade of carpenter-joiner, apprentices become eligible to take the qualification exam for that specialty. After 6,000 hours of apprenticeship in this specialty, apprentices must take the qualification exam for this specialty.
Holders of a JCC limited to a specialty may also be eligible to take the qualification exam for the full trade of carpenter-joiner if they complement their apprenticeship with 2,000 supplementary hours of worker in non-specialized carpentry-joinery.

The examination is still obligatory

Whether an apprentice decides to specialize or not, the qualification exam remains obligatory after 6,000 hours of apprenticeship.