becoming a locksmith in ontario

[commadore]

i have done alot of research on the subject of becoming a locksmith and the whole process has confused me alot. to start off i have been fantisized by locks and and similar technologys since grade nine. I have had alot of smalls things i said i wanted to be as a career (millright, machinist) in the past years, but i can say without a doubt that i want to be a locksmith. today i went to my local college (conastoga in kitchener, ontario) and they told me they didnt offer a locksmithing program. so i did more research and it seems as though you need to find more private schools? one i found was a toronto based school (mrprolock.com) i have heard that some programs are scams and lack most information. please recommend a school near myself (ontario, Canada) if you can and please please clearly explain the process. thank you for your input!

[pickmonger]

I have one major suggestion if you want to deal in Ontario..... The Ontario Association of Locksmiths

http://www.taol.net/theassociation/

They offer training and can probably suggest other reputable places.

When researching the locksmith field you may hear about laws and locksmithing. There are two areas where the law impacts..... one some provinces require you to be trained, qualified and licensed to be a locksmith.

Laws regulating locksmiths in Canada vary from province to province. Currently Ontario does not require locksmiths to be licensed. Province of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan all require approved training and that you complete an apprentice prrogram.

In Alberta you are looking at a 4 year program at Red Deer College of study and work. Contrast that with some places that offer to make you a locksmith in 1 weekend or a week or 2 of training.

The other legal issue is the possesion of certain locksmith tools.

The Criminal Code of Canada makes it a criminal offense to be in possesion of many lock picking tools with out a valid lock pick permit issued by the provincial government. The problem is that most provinces in Canada do not issue these permits because they do not license locksmiths or have laws passed that permit issuing lockpick permits.

Most locksmiths and hobby pickers in Canada are in a "technical violation of federal law". The loophole is that the pick permits are not issued therefore you will probably not be charged.

I know some locksmiths that do only lockouts and very simple lock installs. Others are top notch locksmiths who have years of training and do all kinds of locksmithing and security work.

One guy started out with a cheap $300 course and doing basic lockout and install services as a part time job He put all the profits in to taking a lot more training. He didn't have the money to take expensive courses but was able to finance his training by the part time work.

[pickmonger]

Here is a link to the Alberta Government Locksmith Apprentice section where it talks about what kind of locksmith you may want to be ......

http://www.tradesecrets.org/index.html?page=trades_occupations.asp

This is a link to the training course that all new Alberta locksmiths have to complete .....
Its a guide to the 4 years of training that they require.

It will give you an excellent idea of the various types of locksmithing and topics you may or may not want to learn about.

http://www.tradesecrets.org/trades/pdf/trade_course_outlines/050_outline.pdf

[MacGyver101]

Yes in order to become a successful locksmith proper training is very necessary. Thus choose good reputed institute and good luck for your future.

[commadore]

im just still unsure of thr process, do i do school first or apprentice, theres a locksmiyh near me should i ask him? keep in mind i live in a small town

[quickpicks]

Right now I am doing an apprenticeship in Ontario, if you will. In reality I do not believe you need a fancy program, just know your basics. Types of locks, key and keyway ident, Impressioning, and repining. In my books, those are the real assets and picking is a good skill as well, but is not something you will do often. Most of the work at where I am is 85% commercial and very little residential and lockout calls.

You can probably expect to be doing mostly repining and cutting keys for the first week or so. Now is a good time for you because these licks urging businesses need people as their staff retire.

Hope this was somewhat useful to you

[quickpicks]

Ignore the 'licks'. I can't change it. Just pretend it actually says locksmiths.

[Cruiz]

I am in NB and there is no training available in the region. I am new to locksmithing and most of my training is done on the job. The other technicians show me the job on a daily basis and I am of the opinion that learning by doing will teach you things that a training course will not. The basics are easy to learn and most work that is done is fairly simple, stuff like re-keying residential weiser locks and copying keys. It seems that most provinces do not have any kind of licensing or regulations for locksmiths, except the above mentioned provinces. Going out and doing lockouts only requires the tools to do so and most people offering these services are not trained properly.

[ronsmith]

I know in my company, they used to offer courses that people took in order to learn. Even if you were the best at the job, you still had to go through the process in order to be qualified to work for them. Although they stopped doing it because people simply quit afterwards and went to start their own companies in a few months. Even though - I am told - they failed because it is a different thing to work for someone and work for yourself. Anyway, most places should offer direct training to start working.