Commercial glaziers fabricate and install the glass and metal that skin commercial buildings: curtain wall, storefront systems, entrances and automatic doors, glass railings, skylights, sealed units, and architectural glass. It is a skilled Red Seal trade entered through a formal apprenticeship. Here is the path from getting started to a certified journeyperson glazier.
Understand the trade and its titles
Job Bank classifies glaziers under NOC 73111, Glaziers. The trade carries different official titles in some provinces: in Ontario it is the Architectural Glass and Metal Technician, and in Quebec the Erector Mechanic (Glazier). It is the same skilled trade.
Apprentice through the four-year program
- Register a glazier apprenticeship with a commercial glazing contractor or architectural glass and metal firm
- Work through roughly four years of combined on-the-job hours and technical training
- Learn shop fabrication and field installation: curtain wall, storefront, architectural aluminum, and reading shop and architectural drawings
Get certified (the Red Seal anchor)
Glazier is a Red Seal skilled trade, and certification is what employers look for.
- Certification is compulsory in Quebec and available but voluntary in all other provinces and territories
- Red Seal endorsement is available upon passing the interprovincial exam, which enables mobility across Canada
- Certification typically follows the four-year apprenticeship, or the trade can be challenged with sufficient documented hours of experience
Add the tickets employers expect
- Working-at-heights and fall-protection training, essential for field installation
- WHMIS and first aid
- A driver's licence for getting to and around commercial sites
Land your first role
Apply to commercial glazing contractors and architectural glass and metal firms, emphasize any glass, aluminum, or construction background, and be clear about your apprenticeship status or Red Seal. Set up a job alert on a board built for the trade so new openings reach you before they fill, because skilled glaziers are in demand and contractors hire fast when a capable one appears.
Sources: Job Bank Canada (NOC 73111), the Red Seal program, and provincial apprenticeship authorities.
Find your next role
New jobs are posted regularly. Set up a job alert and they reach you first.