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Getting in

How to become a concrete finisher in Ontario

You become a concrete finisher in Ontario through an apprenticeship — paid, on-the-job training with in-school levels, finishing with the 244G (voluntary) Certificate of Qualification (voluntary for this trade, but it is the credential employers recognize). You earn from day one, typically starting around half of journeyperson rate and stepping up each level.

Concrete & Forming at a glance

Licence to do the work
Not required — 244G Cement Finisher is voluntary
Path in
Start as a labourer/finisher helper; voluntary apprenticeship available
Regulated by
Municipality (permits); ACI certifications are the industry currency
Insurance baseline
$2M CGL — completed-operations claims arrive years later
Union route
OPCMIA Local 598

The path, step by step

  1. 1

    Line up a sponsor

    An apprenticeship needs an employer or union training centre willing to register and train you. For this trade that usually means a concrete or forming contractor, or OPCMIA Local 598. Cold-calling shops with a resume and any safety tickets (WHMIS, Working at Heights) in hand still works — contractors are chronically short of apprentices.

  2. 2

    Register the apprenticeship

    You and your sponsor sign a training agreement through Ontario's apprenticeship system, and you register with Skilled Trades Ontario. Registration is what makes your hours count.

    Start an apprenticeship — ontario.ca
  3. 3

    Do the hours and the school

    Complete the on-the-job hours and in-school levels for the trade — a shorter apprenticeship than the compulsory trades — typically 2–3 years. The in-school blocks run at colleges and union training centres; you alternate between earning on site and learning in class.

  4. 4

    Write the Certificate of Qualification exam

    When your hours and schooling are done, you book and write the C of Q exam with Skilled Trades Ontario. We wrote a full operator-level guide to the last mile — closing out the logbook, booking, prep, and exam day.

    Full guide: 244G Concrete Finisher
  5. 5

    Then: ACI certifications

    ACI Flatwork Finisher and Field Testing Technician certifications are what commercial GCs and engineers actually look for — and decorative/polished concrete is the high-margin specialty on top.

    Full guide: 244G Concrete Finisher

Already an apprentice closing in on your ticket? Skip ahead. Our Last Mile guide covers closing out the logbook, booking the C of Q exam, what to expect on exam day, and the credentials that stack on top. 244G Concrete Finisher →

The real picture

Concrete is one of the few trades where the work literally will not wait for you — the truck is here, the slab is going off, finish it or lose it. The questions reflect that: flatwork or forming or structural, residential or commercial, how to survive the 5am pours and the weather, and whether decorative and polished work is the upgrade that gets you off price competition.

What you'll actually make

From day one to the top of the trade. Ontario figures, approximate and worth verifying against current rates.

  1. Labourer

    $18–24/hr

    Placing, raking, pulling forms while you learn to finish.

  2. Finisher (244G)

    $28–40/hr

    Union (OPCMIA/LiUNA) sits at the top with a pension.

  3. Foreman / lead

    More + truck

  4. Crew owner / contractor

    $100k–250k+

    Volume business income — and weather-dependent.

Which lane is right for you

Flatwork vs forming vs decorative

Flatwork

Driveways, slabs, sidewalks, garage pads — production work for builders, priced per square foot, competitive.

Pay: Volume game.

Best for: People who want the highest-volume, fastest-entry concrete work.

Forming

Foundations, walls, structural formwork — carpentry-adjacent, more commercial/ICI, often unionized.

Pay: Steady, higher on commercial.

Best for: People who like the structural, layout side.

Decorative / polished

Stamped, exposed-aggregate, and polished finishes — craft sold from a portfolio, well off the price war.

Pay: Craft margins, well above flatwork.

Best for: People with an eye who want premium, lower-competition work.

Getting in

You start on a finishing or forming crew as a labourer, chasing pours and learning the single most important thing: timing. Concrete sets on its own schedule, and the finisher who reads the slab and the weather is the one who gets the trowel. The 244G certificate is voluntary; the skill is judgment.

Where it leads (and the way out)

Off the tools: foreman, estimator, superintendent, ACI inspector/testing, or owning a concrete business. The early mornings and the knees-and-back finishing toll push people toward running crews. Decorative and polished work is the off-ramp to higher margins and somewhat easier days — many crews add it as the premium line and never look back.

Where the real conversations are

The communities, official bodies, and wage data tradespeople actually use.

Go to the source

The official pages that govern this trade. Bookmark these, they are the final word on requirements and fees.

Thinking bigger? Start a concrete business

The step-by-step from qualified tradesperson to business owner.

Concrete & Forming questions, answered

Licences, costs, timelines. Answered straight.