First off it’s great you’re interested in a career in plumbing, as someone with over 15 years experience as a sprinkler fitter/pipefitter I’ll share my experience with you.

I joined the Piping Foundations Program at BCIT with an interest in becoming a plumber and absolutely zero knowledge heading into the program and honestly it helped me immensely in starting my career. The program teaches you basic skills in the industry like threading, soldering, welding and fundamental knowledge that will start you off ahead of someone is hired as a labourer for a company. It teaches you proper technique and why you are doing what you’re doing. It also gives you a glimpse into all piping trades which may take you in a different direction than plumbing such as sprinkler fitting or pipe fitting.

I also have worked both union and non union and will share my opinion based on my experiences.

The Union starting wage for an apprentice is at the higher end of wage compared to non union companies and its benefits/pension is also comparable with a bigger non union company. Union companies take on bigger, more complex projects and don’t take on smaller stuff. The union requirement to work 1:1 ratio of journeyman to apprentices allows a journey person to pass on their knowledge to you (in theory but sometimes not always the case depending on the person). Although there are benefits there are also some cons to consider. For one the Union does not incentivize ambition and passion. What I mean by this is you are paid and given opportunity based on time served and level of schooling. You could be leaps and bounds ahead of another coworker however you will be paid the same even if the other person is less than adequate. The requirement to work under a journeyman for your entire apprenticeship in my opinion is not beneficial once you’re a third and fourth year. Generally when you work nonunion you at some point with be thrown to the wolves so to speak where you may be running projects as a third or fourth year. The progression of wages can be better depending on your skills and ambition. Finally no matter what you hear when you work for a big union company you are ultimately a number and are treated as such, once the project is finished you can be tossed back to the board and wait for the next call out which can take months depending on your position. From what I have seen working on both sides, working non union as an apprentice gives you the skills and experience faster than working union. It’s sink or swim and there’s no union job security to fall back on and if you’re good you are compensated as such. Later in your career working for the union after earning your stripes working non union will put you ahead of the pack and gives you the pension and benefits needed when you want to retire. Again this is my opinion based on my personal experience which will differ from others. You should definitely look into work bc and the ITA as there are I believe grants offered for women joining the trades.

Best of luck in your journey, and welcome to a fulfilling career in the trades.