College Diploma - Electrical Engineering Technician - Trades (Optional Co-op)

The Electrical Engineering Technician – Trades diploma is the two-year electrical program, blending trade installation skill with technical systems knowledge, and carries an optional co-op.

Beyond the installation fundamentals — code, wiring methods, conduit, distribution and motor control — the second year covers electrical system design and load calculation, industrial power distribution, programmable logic controllers, variable frequency drives and motor control centres, building automation and lighting control systems, renewable energy and solar installation, power quality and metering, and estimating for electrical projects.

The design and estimating content opens routes that pure trade training does not. Electrical estimators and project coordinators are well paid, are not required to hold a trade licence, and are consistently understaffed in Ontario contracting.

One point international students should understand about Ontario trades: this program is a college credential, not an apprenticeship. It gives you the theory, shop skills and safety certifications employers want, and it can shorten an apprenticeship, but full trade qualification in Ontario runs through a registered apprenticeship with an employer sponsor and a certificate of qualification. Plan for that step rather than assuming graduation completes it.

Humber Polytechnic — formerly Humber College — is Ontario’s largest public college and a Designated Learning Institution (DLI O19376943122). The North campus in Etobicoke is its main site, running technology, engineering, health science, business and skilled trades programs in purpose-built labs and shops rather than lecture halls, with three intakes a year and the deepest employer network in the Greater Toronto Area.

Its field maps to CIP 46.0302 (Electrician). Important: this is a college credential rather than a degree, so it is not exempt from the November 2024 PGWP field-of-study restriction — eligibility depends on this CIP field appearing on IRCC’s eligible list when you apply. Humber publishes a PGWP-eligible program list with CIP codes; check it, and confirm with an Apply Study Visa counsellor before committing. IRCC makes the final decision.