Sprinkler Fitter and Sprinkler Systems Installer

Are you analytical? Would you like to work with precision tools? Are you physically fit? Do you like working with your hands? Are you comfortable with heights? Then, you could be a sprinkler fitter or sprinkler systems installer!

What the work is like

Sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers build, install and maintain wet and dry pipe sprinkler systems and extinguishing systems. They are employed in hospitals, commercial buildings, manufacturing plants, homes and apartment buildings. Sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers work mostly in the new home building and renovation, and institutional and commercial construction sectors.

Your duties

As a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer, your duties may include:

• Selecting, measuring, cutting and installing piping
• Connecting piping systems to water mains, supply tanks, pumps and control equipment
• Installing sprinkler heads and alarm systems
• Welding pipes
• Testing systems for leaks using air or liquid pressure equipment
• Servicing and repairing sprinkler systems
• Preparing cost estimates
• Reading and interpreting work specifications and fire codes

Work conditions

The standard work week for sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers is 40 hours (8 hours a day, 5 days a week). As with many careers in construction, there are peak periods that will require you to work overtime. The number of additional hours you work each week depends on the construction sector and region you work in, and will vary from one job to the next.

As a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer, you may work indoors and outdoors, often with a team of other construction professionals. The job can be physically demanding—you may work at considerable heights and have to lift heavy materials.

As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers are trained to work safely, and wear special equipment to protect themselves from injury.

Essential skills

Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified nine essential skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace:

• Reading text—extracting information from written material
• Document use—reading and interpreting documents to extract information
• Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
• Writing—writing text in documents and on the computer
• Oral communication—conveying or exchanging information verbally
• Working with others—interacting with co-workers to get the job done
• Continuous learning—continuing to learn on the job
• Thinking skills
  • Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges
  • Decision making—making a choice among options
  • Critical thinking—analyzing a situation and making an assessment
  • Job task planning and organizing—working independently to plan and organize daily tasks
  • Significant use of memory—performing tasks that call upon greater memory use than most jobs
  • Finding information—locating information from a variety of sources, including text, people, computerized databases or information systems
• Computer skills—working with computers to operate machinery or to input/extract information

These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and are applicable to most construction careers. Best of all, you can learn and improve on these skills in school, on the job, and during your everyday life.

The most important Essential Skills for sprinkler fitters and sprinkler system installers are:

• Numeracy—working with numbers to perform calculations
• Oral communication—conveying or exchanging information verbally
• Problem solving—coming up with solutions to challenges

Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is one way of starting out in the construction industry. It involves both classroom studies and on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer, called a journeyperson.

As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour while working on the job site. Wages start at about 45% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate and increase during your apprenticeship, until you reach the full rate.

Entering an apprenticeship program

Requirements for sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. In most provinces and territories, you must be at least 16 years old and have a Grade 10 education, or equivalent, to enter a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer apprenticeship program.

Some provinces and territories offer secondary school apprenticeship programs that allow high school students to work towards a career as a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer.

Program length

Apprenticeship training programs for sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers vary across Canada, but generally involve four 12-month periods, including at least 6,600 hours of on-the-job training, three 7-week blocks of technical training, and a final certificate examination.

Related work experience or completion of a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.

Certification

Sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer certification is required in British Columbia and Québec, and is available but voluntary in all other provinces and territories. Even where certification is voluntary, it is still recommended. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.

To be certified as a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer, you usually need to complete a four-year apprenticeship program. Once you successfully complete the on-the-job training, technical training and examinations required by the program, you are awarded a journeyperson certificate.

If you have over five years of on-the-job experience and some high school, college or industry courses in sprinkler fitting and sprinkler systems installer, you may be eligible for certification in some provinces and territories.

As a certified sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer, you may attempt the Interprovincial Exam to qualify for the Interprovincial Standards’ Red Seal. With a Red Seal, you can work as a sprinkler fitter and sprinkler systems installer anywhere in Canada.

To keep your skills current, you have to keep up with new technological developments by reading and talking with other sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers.

Where to study in British Columbia

In addition to the Canadian schools listed below, many employer and labour organizations offer training.

British Columbia Institute of Technology
Camosun College
Pacific Vocational College
Northern Lights College

Salary ranges

TYPICAL WORK WEEK/YEAR *

In addition to their hourly rate, many construction workers receive statutory holiday and vacation pay. Depending on the contract, you may also receive benefits such as group insurance for health, dental and vision care, retirement packages, and training benefits up to 30% of your hourly rate. If you are self-employed, it’s up to you to arrange your own benefits.

* Wages vary across Canada, among labour organization locals and among open-shop construction contractors.

** Most construction work involves overtime, so your annual salary will vary depending on the number of hours you work. The salary range listed above represents the annual salary range for full-time journeyperson sprinkler fitters and sprinkler systems installers across Canada, based on a 40-hour work week, without taking overtime into account.