Commercial roofers install and service the flat and low-slope systems that cover commercial and industrial buildings: single-ply membranes, modified bitumen, built-up roofing, sheet metal and flashing, and building-envelope and waterproofing work. It is a skilled Red Seal trade, and the commercial end pays and requires more than residential shingle work. Here is the path from getting started to a certified journeyperson commercial roofer.
Understand the trade
Job Bank classifies roofers under NOC 73110, Roofers and shinglers. Roofer is a Red Seal skilled trade, and the commercial side, single-ply, modified bitumen, and building envelope, is where the skill and the pay concentrate.
Apprentice, or challenge with experience
- Register a roofer apprenticeship with a commercial roofing contractor, typically a two-to-three-year program of combined on-the-job hours and technical training
- Or, with roughly 5,400 documented hours of trade experience, challenge the interprovincial exam directly
- Learn single-ply (TPO, EPDM, PVC), modified bitumen, built-up roofing, flat and low-slope systems, flashing, and reading blueprints and specifications
Get certified (the Red Seal anchor)
Roofer is a Red Seal trade, and certification is what commercial employers look for.
- Trade certification is compulsory in Quebec and available but voluntary in all other provinces and territories
- Red Seal endorsement is available on passing the interprovincial exam, which enables mobility across Canada
- British Columbia also offers a voluntary residential steep-roofer certification
Add the tickets commercial crews expect
- Working-at-heights and fall-protection training, essential on every commercial roof
- Propane or torch-safety tickets for torch-applied systems
- WHMIS and first aid
Land your first role
Apply to commercial and industrial roofing contractors, building-envelope firms, and roofing service companies, emphasize any single-ply, torch, sheet-metal, or working-at-heights experience, and be clear about your certification or your plan to earn it. Set up a job alert on a board built for the trade so new openings reach you before they fill, because demand is steady and contractors hire fast when a skilled commercial roofer appears.
Sources: Job Bank Canada (NOC 73110), 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.