What is the Schulich Builders Scholarship?

Schulich Builders is a privately funded scholarship program for students entering full-time skilled trades programs at one of 12 participating Ontario colleges. The award is up to $40,000 ($20,000 per year for two-year diploma programs, or $20,000 total for one-year certificate programs). 120 scholarships are awarded across all 12 colleges each year. It's one of the largest trades-specific scholarships in Canada.

Which colleges participate?

Georgian, Cambrian, Sheridan, Mohawk, George Brown, Centennial, Humber, Loyalist, Algonquin, Conestoga, Fanshawe, and Niagara. If you've been admitted to a skilled trades program at any of these for fall 2026, you're potentially eligible.

What are the deadlines for 2026?

Deadlines vary by college. Georgian College closes May 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT. Cambrian closes May 29. Sheridan closes May 31. Most other participating colleges close on May 31 as well, but verify with your specific college's scholarship page. All winners are notified by July 31, 2026.

You need to be admitted to a full-time eligible skilled trades program at a participating college for September 2026. Eligible programs are listed on each college's Schulich Builders page. The program varies by college but generally includes carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, welding, automotive service, machining, and some specialized trades. Apprenticeship pathway students are eligible if they're enrolled in the in-class technical training portion through one of the participating colleges.

Can I stack this with OSAP or other awards?

Mostly yes, but Schulich Builders is large enough that you need to check the math. External scholarship income is exempt from OSAP up to Ontario's per-year threshold (verify the current number with your school's financial aid office, as it changes year-to-year). A $20K/year Schulich Builders award is likely above that exemption, so part of it may be considered in your OSAP needs assessment. The award does NOT reduce other external scholarships. And Conestoga's internal awards are under review during the May 2026 provincial administration, but external awards like Schulich Builders are completely independent of any college-level disruption.

Is there a high school GPA cutoff?

Most participating colleges set a minimum admission average for the trades program itself (usually 65-70%), which is a soft entry bar. The Schulich Builders selection committee weighs financial need, demonstrated commitment to the trade, community involvement, and personal essays heavily. Strong essays + verifiable trade interest can outweigh a marginal academic record.

$40,000 Trades Scholarship Closes In Days. Apply This Week.

There's a single Canadian scholarship paying $40,000 for trades students that closes for several colleges in the next three weeks, and most Ontario trades students don't realize they're eligible. So this post is short and tactical. If you're going into skilled trades at a participating Ontario college in September, you have a real shot at $20,000 a year and the application takes maybe 90 minutes.

The award is called Schulich Builders. It's funded by the Schulich Foundation. 120 awards are issued every year across 12 participating Ontario colleges. It generally combines with OSAP and other scholarships (with the usual OSAP exemption-threshold caveat — see the FAQ at the bottom). The deadlines vary by college, and the soonest one (Georgian) is May 15, 2026.

The deadlines you can still hit

Georgian College: May 15, 2026 at 11:59 PM EDT
Cambrian College: May 29, 2026
Sheridan College: May 31, 2026
Most other participating colleges: May 31, 2026 (verify with each college's scholarship page)
All decisions notified: by July 31, 2026

If you've been admitted to a trades program at any of these schools for fall 2026, applying is essentially free with a non-trivial probability of $40,000 attached. Even at 1-in-10 odds, that's $4,000 of expected value for a single afternoon's work. The math isn't subtle.

The 12 participating colleges

Georgian, Cambrian, Sheridan, Mohawk, George Brown Polytechnic, Centennial, Humber Polytechnic, Loyalist, Algonquin, Conestoga, Fanshawe, and Niagara. If your acceptance letter is from one of these, you're potentially in.

A note on Conestoga specifically: the college is under provincial administration as of May 7, 2026, but Schulich Builders is administered by the Schulich Foundation and Conestoga's college-level board change does not affect this external award. Your Conestoga application is still valid and still gets reviewed on the same timeline.

What the application actually asks for

Each college's process is slightly different but the core ask is consistent across all of them. You'll need:

Proof of admission to an eligible trades program for September 2026
A short personal essay (typically 500-800 words) on why you're entering the trades and what you bring to it
One or two reference letters (depending on college). A high school teacher, a trade mentor, a community leader, or a current employer all count
A demonstrated financial need declaration
Some colleges ask for evidence of community involvement or volunteer work

The essay is where most applications win or lose. The selection committee reads a lot of "I've always wanted to be a plumber" essays. They remember the one that says "I spent three summers helping my uncle re-wire houses and I'm taking electrician at Mohawk because I want to do industrial controls in mining specifically and Mohawk has the only co-op program that lets me into Sudbury for placement."

What makes a strong essay

You're competing with maybe 200-400 other applicants at your specific college, of whom probably 50 are very serious. The selection committee is looking for:

Specific evidence you've already engaged with the trade in some form (summer job, family business, shop class portfolio, apprentice hours, volunteer build day, anything)
A clear reason this particular trade fits you, not just "the trades pay well"
Evidence of grit or follow-through (a multi-year commitment to anything counts: a sport, a band, a job, a community group)
A specific career path you're heading toward, even if it changes later

Boilerplate essays lose. So do humble-brag essays. So do essays that read like the applicant's parent wrote them.

Stack this with other money

Here's what makes the Schulich Builders math even better. If you win the $40,000, it doesn't replace your federal Canada Student Grants. It doesn't replace your provincial apprenticeship grants if your program qualifies. The interaction with OSAP is nuanced (see FAQ), but for a typical Ontario student the realistic stack still includes federal grants and provincial trades-specific bursaries on top.

For a Cambrian student in the millwright program, the realistic stack looks like:

Up to $40,000 from Schulich Builders over two years
A portion of OSAP funding (some reduction is possible if Schulich exceeds the annual exemption threshold)
Federal apprenticeship program supports announced this spring (check the program page for current amounts)
Provincial apprenticeship loan-forgiveness or completion-bonus programs depending on your trade

It's plausible to finish a two-year millwright diploma with significantly reduced debt if you stack aggressively. The Schulich Builders application is the single highest-leverage step in that stack.

How to apply this week

Step 1: pick the participating college you've been admitted to. Go to their Schulich Builders page. Most are linked from the colleges' financial aid pages, but the central index is at schulichbuilders.com.

Step 2: fill in the online application form for your specific college. It's typically one form per college. If you've applied to multiple participating colleges, you can apply to Schulich Builders at each one separately.

Step 3: draft the essay. Don't write it in the form. Write it in a doc, leave it alone for 24 hours, come back, cut 30% of the words, then paste it in.

Step 4: line up your references early. Give them at least a week of notice and remind them of one specific story you'd like them to mention.

Step 5: submit at least 48 hours before the deadline. Trades scholarship sites notoriously break under last-day load.

Other deadlines worth knowing this month

While you're applying, a few other Canadian funding deadlines are also closing in May or early summer:

Indspire Building Brighter Futures (Indigenous students): next deadline August 1, 2026
Indspire Trans Mountain Excellence Scholarship (Indigenous students, high-demand fields): $25,000 × 8 awards, closes August 1, 2026
Rick & Amanda Hansen Scholarship: May 15, 2026

If you're a trades student, the Schulich Builders application is your highest-priority item this week. If you're also Indigenous, add Indspire to your list. If you're at a non-participating college, scroll to the next section.

If you're not eligible for Schulich Builders

Plenty of other trades-specific scholarships exist for Canadian students. The fastest way to find what fits your specific program and location is to take the 2-minute eligibility quiz. It scores you against our live catalogue and returns a personalized list of awards you actually qualify for. Or browse trades-specific scholarships directly.

The new federal apprenticeship program announced this spring funds the apprenticeship cycle separately and has no connection to Schulich Builders. Most provinces also run their own apprenticeship loan-forgiveness or completion-bonus programs.

Sources we used

Last updated 2026-05-12.