Friday, December 19, 2025

New Year Brings Changes to Skilled Trades Ontario

Two big changes are coming to Skilled Trades Ontario (STO)! Here is what you need to know in order to be prepared and aware of these changes.

First, STO has just announced that they have made updates to the Schooling Preferences feature in the STO Portal.

These features include:

Select your preferred Training Delivery Agent (TDA)
Choose your campus
Indicate your training mode (full-time, part-time, or virtual)

STO is also reminding everyone that if you have not submitted your schooling preferences or made any updates recently, you need to do so as soon as possible to ensure there are no delays or mistakes in receiving your offer to attend in-class training.

Be sure to log into your STO Portal account today and check your Schooling Preferences! If you are experiencing issues with logging into your account or selecting your Schooling Preferences, please contact STO directly at 647-847-3000 or toll-free (Ontario only) at 1-855-299-0028.

Secondly, STO will take full responsibility for delivering all certifying exams starting February 1, 2026. Apprentices can now book exams for that date or later directly through the STO Portal. This change builds on STO’s progress since it began managing exams in April 2025, including adding regional hubs, permanent onsite exam delivery, and expanded customer service. Moving exam delivery in-house will create a modern, consistent certification process across the province.

Exams scheduled on or before January 31, 2026 will happen as planned. Some exams after that date may need to be rebooked, and STO will contact affected apprentices in January so please keep an eye of your inbox. Fees, Red Seal requirements, and accommodations remain the same. Onsite examinations will continue through Training Delivery Agents, with STO and TDAs working together to expand local access. Questions or accommodation requests can be directed to STO Client Services or emailed to accommodations@skilledtradesontario.ca.

More information on this change and exam scheduling can be found here: https://www.skilledtradesontario.ca/certification/exam-scheduling/

If you have any questions about this, you can always call Skilled Trades Ontario at 647-847-3000 or toll-free at 1-855-299-0028.

New Year Brings Changes to Skilled Trades Ontario

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