civilian vs. military trades

[bc_railfan]

a couple quick questions for reg and reserve members alike...

in the regular force, are apprenticeships offered in trades? are these trade programs similar to civilian trade certification (4-5 years apprenticeship)? if apprenticeships are offered, is certification available in the military that can be used in civilian applications?

also, do the reserves offer anything in the way of certificates for training programs such as WHMIS or hydraulic crane, etc.

any help is appreciated
-brad
bterragni@shaw.ca

 

[rceme_rat]

My response is based on experience with EME trades (vehicle, weapons, electronics, & optics techs, welders, etc) during the late 80s and early 90s. I expect nothing has changed dramatically.


The basic trade qualification is QL3. This is a course of about 6 months duration. All basic tasks are taught and the soldier is then prepared to conduct operations under supervision.

QL4 is comparable to a civilian apprenticeship. A long list of trade skills must be acquired through on job training -- essentially, learning how to apply the workbench skills taught in school to real problems on the shop floor and in the field.

QL5 is another 6 month formal course, where advanced skills are taught.

My experience was that QL5 corporals who wanted to get their civvy ticket experienced little difficulty. Certain areas of civvy training had to be sought out since they weren‘t always relevant in the military - no call for air conditioning experience for most vehicle techs, e.g. - but this didn‘t seem to pose a problem.

My understanding is that the civvy ticket test was often arranged to follow the QL5 course and that few techs, if any, failed it (optional test, of course).

Since civvy tickets are regulated provincially, each province may have different rules regarding the use of military training and experience in obtaining the civvy ticket. Similarly, the military can look at a recruit‘s civvy quals and experience in determining whether to waive parts of QL training. A lot of that is happening now.

As for certification, you can obtain the course descriptions to show the skills taught/required and you would have a formal record of all courses taken. WHMMIS is widely available - required for all soldiers in all shops. Hydraulic cranes, air brake,etc -- if the military needs it, they teach it -- or send the soldiers to someone who does.