Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship

Last updated on September 2, 2025

The Ministry of Education and Child Care and SkilledTradesBC changed the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Award to the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship on July 1, 2024. The scholarship helps students continue their training in trades after high school.

Students who registered with SkilledTradesBC as a Youth Apprentice on or before June 30, 2024, do not need to apply. They will receive the award automatically.

To learn more about the differences between the WRK Award and the WRK Scholarship, please refer to the Youth Work in Trades Scholarship FAQ (PDF, 89KB).

On this page

What is the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship?

  • The Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship gives $1,000 CAD to help students in trades
  • Students registered as Youth Apprentices with SkilledTradesBC can apply
  • Scholarships are used to pay for tuition and training costs in trades programs after high school
  • Up to 600 WRK scholarships are available each year
  • Applications must be submitted online
  • Applicants will need to provide information about how much financial support they will need during their training

Timeline at-a-glance

  • The 2025 application period is from September 2 - November 14, 4:00 pm PST:

​Apply online

  • End of January: Successful applicants receive eligibility confirmation by email
  • Successful applicants have 3 years from the email date to redeem their scholarship
    • Note: Redemption form must be submitted to redeem scholarship

Eligibility requirements

Applicants must meet the following criteria to be considered for a WRK Scholarship:

  • Be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (landed immigrant)
  • Be a B.C. resident
  • Completed the Youth Work in Trades program (WRK11A/11B, and WRK12A/12B)

while school-aged, and:

  • Was enrolled in a public school, a Group 1, 2, or 4 independent school, or a continuing education centre, or have been registered as a homeschooler with a public, independent, or online learning school in B.C.
  • Registered as a Youth Apprentice with SkilledTradesBC on or after July 1, 2024
  • Graduated with a Dogwood Diploma or Adult Dogwood Diploma
  • Achieved a minimum C+ average on Grade 12-numbered courses
  • Have at least 900 work-based training hours recorded on the SkilledTradesBC Portal by August 31 immediately following their final school-age year
    • If an applicant does not have 900 work-based training hours, they may apply for the WRK Scholarship up to and including the fall immediately following their last school-age year
    • If you have questions about your work-based training hours, contact SkilledTradesBC

How the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship works

2 steps

1. To apply, applicants must:

  1. Meet all eligibility requirements listed above
  2. Apply for the WRK Scholarship during the application period
  3. Receive an email from the Ministry of Education and Child Care confirming receipt of their WRK Scholarship application

2. To redeem, successful applicants must:

  1. Receive email confirmation of their WRK Scholarship eligibility
  2. Enroll in a post-secondary trades training program at a training provider approved by SkilledTradesBC
  3. Get a "Confirmation of Enrolment" or equivalent document from your training provider that shows you are registered in a post-secondary trades training program
  4. Upload and submit the “Confirmation of Enrolment” or equivalent document through the Redemption form
  5. Wait for the cheque to arrive in the mail (Cheques may take 6-8 weeks to arrive)

Adjudications

If more than 600 people apply each year, scholarships will be granted based on financial need. Ministry staff will review applications and consider the financial details provided, such as training costs, to select scholarship recipients.

Forms

Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship forms:

Contact information

For questions about the Youth Work in Trades (WRK) Scholarship, contact the team at WRK.Scholarships@gov.bc.ca