Grade 12 equivalency for drinking water and wastewater operators and water quality analysts
Learn about the equivalent to Grade 12 education for a municipal system operator, water quality analyst certificate and limited system operator certificates.
Purpose
To identify what the ministry will consider equivalent to Grade 12 as referenced in Schedule 2 of O. Reg. 128/04 and O. Reg. 129/04 in relation to:
- operator and water quality analyst certificates
- limited system operator certificates
Context
In order to qualify for a municipal operator or water quality analyst certificate, among other qualifying criteria, a person must have Grade 12 or education qualifications that the Director considers equivalent.
To qualify for a limited system operator certificate, among other qualifying criteria, a person must have Grade 12 or education qualifications or training that the Director considers equivalent.
Ministry policy
1. Grade 12 Equivalent - Operators & Water Quality Analysts
The Director considers any one of the following to be equivalent to Grade 12 in Ontario for the purpose of securing an operator or water quality analyst certificate:
- A secondary school graduation diploma from any Canadian province or territory or the United States.
- A General Educational Development (GED) certificate issued by the United States or a Canadian province or territory.
footnote 1 - A Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC) issued by a Canadian province or territory.
- A transcript, diploma, degree or certificate from another country, assessed at an OSSD level by a recognized assessment service.
- A two to three year diploma, three to four year degree or a postgraduate degree from a recognized/accredited university or community college from Canada or the United States.
- A postsecondary diploma or degree from outside Canada or the United States that has been assessed as equivalent to a Canadian postsecondary diploma or degree by a recognized assessment service.
- A certificate of completion for an academic upgrading program from Ontario or another Canadian jurisdiction that is accepted by an Ontario college of applied arts and technology for entry into an Ontario postsecondary program.
- A certificate of apprenticeship in any trade from Ontario or other Canadian jurisdiction.
- A certificate of completion of a trade-specific training program from an Ontario college of applied arts and technology that has been approved by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities. Similar certificates from non-Ontario jurisdictions must be assessed for equivalency to an Ontario college of applied arts and technology certificate.
- Completion of the first year of a two to three year college program directly related to water or wastewater. To be considered for this equivalence, the student must provide a letter from the college indicating that the student took all the required courses and received a passing grade in these subjects. The program must also be approved by the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for this purpose.
2. Education Qualifications - Limited System Operator Certificate
The Director considers any one of the following training equivalent to Grade 12, for the purpose of securing a limited system operator certificate:
- Verify Grade 12 equivalence as outlined in Section 1 of this guideline
- Verify the following:
- Grade 10 education and at least one month of experience as an operator in a limited system within the 12 months preceding August 1, 2004, or
- Grade 10 education, plus two years of additional education or training the Director considers relevant or 90 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). This additional education can include Grade 11 and 12 courses that were completed.
Process
Documents which the Director considers equivalent or representative of Grade 12 include: transcript, diploma or letter of verification which are issued by a school board or private school.
When applying for an operator certification exam, applicants wishing to have Grade 12 or equivalent education or training verified by the Program Administrator should submit the required documents to the Program Administrator for review.
A person who has secured one operator certificate/licence by examination is not required to verify Grade 12 for other certificates/licences.
Footnotes
- footnote[1] Back to paragraph The Canadian GED program has been discontinued as of May 3, 2024 and has been replaced by the Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC)