Overview
Learn to install, maintain and repair the measuring and control devices used in industrial and commercial processing.
If you are detail orientated and have an aptitude for math, science and technology, you'll enjoy a career as an instrumentation and control technician.
You'll work with a wide variety of pneumatic, electronic and microcomputer devices used to measure and control pressure, flow, temperature, level, motion, force, and chemical composition.
Throughout your career, you'll consult manufacturers' manuals to determine test and maintenance procedures as well as use pneumatic, electrical and electronic testing devices to inspect and test instrument and system operation and diagnose faults.
You'll practice loss management principles, consult with and advise process operators, repair, maintain and adjust system components or remove and replace defective parts, conduct risk assessments, calibrate and maintain components and instruments according to manufacturers' specifications, work with engineers on basic designs, install and maintain instruments on new or existing plant equipment and processes and interpret and use appropriate CSA, ISA and API installation standards and practices.
This is a non-compulsory trade – individuals can work in the trade without certification if the employer deems the individual to have the skills of a journeyperson. However, individuals who are working and learning the trade must become a registered apprentice.
Is this the right fit for me?
Students who have the following characteristics see greater success in the instrumentation trade:
- the ability to pay careful attention to details
- good communication and reading skills
- manual dexterity and patience
- the ability to use proper lifting techniques to lift between 11 and 25 kilograms
- good mathematical, scientific, mechanical and logical reasoning abilities
- the ability and desire to keep up-to-date with technological developments in the field
- a commitment to safe work habits
Credentials
Upon successfully completing the required working hours and apprenticeship education periods, graduates will be awarded journeyperson status by Alberta’s Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
This is a Red Seal Endorsed trade — a recognizable standard that allows tradespeople to work across Canada.
Career opportunities
Start your career by finding an employer who is willing to indenture you as an apprentice. With the industry becoming increasingly automated, instrumentation and control technicians are needed virtually anywhere there are control and metering systems.
You will be employed in some of the following industries:
- Pulp and paper processing
- Hydropower generation
- Mining, petrochemical and natural gas
- Industrial and commercial manufacturing
- Industrial construction
- Industrial instrument servicing
After becoming a journeyperson, you may advance to supervisory positions or take on new apprentices. Some instrumentation and control technicians become engineering technicians or move into company sales offices. Some journeypersons go on to run their own businesses – we can help you build your business with our Blue Seal business certificate.
Admission and completion
To enter an apprenticeship, you must have the educational qualifications required or recommended education for the trade to which you apply.
Entrance requirements are monitored and set by Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training.
Minimum requirements
Successful completion of the following courses:
- English 20-2
- Math 30-3
- Physics 30 and Chemistry 30
OR
A pass mark in all five Canadian General Educational Development (GED) tests
OR
Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training Entrance Exam
Recommended path
Apprentices with an Alberta High School Diploma that includes the following courses:
- English 30-2
- Math 30-3
- Physics 30 and Chemistry 30 and Science 30
- Related career and technology studies (CTS) courses
How to register
Registration for apprenticeship education is run through Alberta Apprenticeship and Industry Training. Learn how you can register for your next intake.
Apprenticeship and Industry Training Client Services
1.800.248.4823
tradesecrets.alberta.ca
Suite 200 Willow Park Centre
10325 Bonaventure DR. SE
Calgary, AB
After you register
Email is the primary source of communication after you have registered for your intake. Please ensure your personal email account is managed appropriately to receive our emails, files and communications. We recommend you add the sait.ca domain to your safe senders' list or you risk missing critical email messages.
When do classes start?
Registration for the 2022/23 academic year opens May 11, 2022.
| Period | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 29, 2022 | Oct. 21, 2022 |
| 2 | Oct. 24, 2022 | Dec. 16, 2022 |
| 4 | Jan. 3, 2023 | March 10, 2023 |
| 3 or 4 | March 13, 2023 | May 19, 2023 |
Training
The term of apprenticeship for instrumentation and control technicians is four years (four 12-month periods), including a minimum of 1560 hours of on-the-job training and eight weeks of apprenticeship education at SAIT in the first and second years, and a minimum of 1500 hours of on-the-job training and 10 weeks of apprenticeship education at SAIT in the third and fourth years.
apprenticeship education performance
To be successful in apprenticeship education, an apprentice must pass each section of the course and pass the AIT exam. The passing grade for each section in the course is a 65%. A passing mark on each provincial exam Exam and the Interprovincial Qualification (or Red Seal Exam) is 70%.
Costs 2022/23
Tuition and fees*
| Period | Tuition fees | SAIT fees | Saitsa fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $960 | $231 | $72 | $1,263 |
| 2 | $960 | $231 | $72 | $1,263 |
| 3 | $1,200 | $231 | $90 | $1,521 |
| 4 | $1,200 | $231 | $90 | $1,521 |
SAIT fees
Campus recreation fee: $49
Lab and material fee: $82
Student support fee: $50
Student technology fee: $50
Books and supplies*
- Books or modules along with other items for class average out to $600 per period.
- It is recommended that you do not purchase books or modules ahead of time as they might be outdated by the time you attend classes and they cannot be returned to the bookstore.
- Personal Protective Equipment will be required for the program, which may be an additional cost to apprentices.
*Tuition, fees, books and supply costs are subject to change.
Costs 2023/24
Tuition and fees*
The following costs are effective as of July 1, 2023.
| Period | Number of weeks | Tuition fees | SAIT fees | Saitsa fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | $1,056 | $247 | $72 | $1,375 |
| 2 | 8 | $1,056 | $247 | $72 | $1,375 |
| 3 | 10 | $1,320 | $247 | $90 | $1,657 |
| 4 | 10 | $1,320 | $247 | $90 | $1,657 |
Fees breakdown
| SAIT fees | Cost per period |
|---|---|
| Lab and materials fee | $90 |
| Student support fee | $52.75 |
| Student technology fee | $52.75 |
| Campus recreation fee | $51.50 |
| Total | $247 |
Saitsa fee per week: $9
Learn more about what your fees are for
Books and supplies*
- Books or modules along with other items for class average out to $600 per period.
- It is recommended that you do not purchase books or modules ahead of time as they might be outdated by the time you attend classes and they cannot be returned to the bookstore.
- Personal Protective Equipment will be required for the program, which may be an additional cost to apprentices.
*Tuition, fees, books and supply costs are subject to change.
