About us
A training centre built around the workshop floor
Career Technical Centre has been teaching practical skills in Nanaimo since 2014. One campus, 9 subject areas, 40 courses — and a single, deliberately simple format.
- 12
- weeks per program
- 40
- courses
- 14
- learners per class
- 100%
- in-person
Our story
Why CTC exists
Career Technical Centre opened in 2014 with a single construction workshop and a simple observation: on Vancouver Island there was steady demand for skilled hands, and no shortage of people who wanted to learn — but the routes in were long, expensive and administratively heavy.
So we built the opposite. One format: twelve weeks, in person, workshop-based, with a fixed and published fee. Short enough that international learners can attend on a visitor visa rather than waiting months for a study permit. Long enough to build genuine, supervised competence rather than a certificate of attendance.
Since then we have added service bays, a teaching kitchen and bakery, a simulated care suite, a technology lab, an early years activity room and a training warehouse. What has not changed is the ratio: roughly seventy percent of your contact time is spent doing the work, not reading about it.
What we are — and what we are not
We are a vocational training centre. Our programs lead to a CTC Certificate of Completion, which records the modules you covered and the competencies you demonstrated. It is a credible training record to show an employer, and a solid platform for an apprenticeship or a regulated qualification.
We are not a degree-awarding institution, and our certificate is not a professional licence. Where a role in British Columbia requires registration or certification — a Red Seal, a care worker registry entry, a regulated licence — our programs prepare you for that next step rather than replacing it. We would rather be clear about that up front than have you discover it later.
How we teach
Four commitments we hold to
Competence over paperwork
We assess what you can actually do at the bench, in the bay or in the kitchen. Written work exists to support the practical, never the other way round.
Safety is the first skill
Every program starts with safety and never leaves it behind. It is the habit that makes everything else employable.
Small groups, real supervision
Fourteen learners maximum. If an instructor cannot watch you work and correct you, the class is too big.
Open to the world
Our twelve-week format exists so people can train in Canada without a study permit. Learners come from more than thirty countries each year.
In short
Why learners choose CTC
Workshop-first teaching
Roughly 70% of contact time is spent on the tools, in the kitchen, in the bay or in the lab. Theory is taught around the practical work, not before it.
No study permit needed
Because every program runs for 12 weeks — under the six-month threshold — you can attend on a visitor visa or eTA rather than a Canadian study permit.
Small, supervised groups
A maximum of 14 learners per workshop means real supervision, real feedback and genuine time on equipment every session.
Industry-current instructors
Our instructors come from BC job sites, kitchens, care homes and workshops. They teach what employers on the Island actually ask for.
Accommodation arranged
One accommodation fee covers all 12 weeks in CTC-arranged shared student housing, walking distance or a short bus ride from campus.
Transparent, fixed fees
Three published fees, no hidden extras. You know the full cost of your program before you apply for your visa.
Applications are open for October 2026
Twelve weeks, in person, on the tools. Submit your application in about fifteen minutes — no documents to upload.
12 weeks · In-person training · Study permit not required — attend on a visitor visa