You give us the seat and the job description. We source, screen and interview electricians, plumbers, HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, millwrights, welders, heavy-duty and automotive technicians, machinists and CNC operators for shops, dealerships, manufacturers and service companies across Winnipeg, and you decide how involved you want to be from there.
15% of first-year salary, $5,000 minimum per role
Electrical contractors, plumbing and mechanical shops, HVAC and refrigeration companies, machine and fabrication shops, truck and heavy equipment dealerships, manufacturers, property managers and industrial service companies. If your business runs on a ticket, a licence or a certificate of qualification somewhere on the floor, we run the same search we would run to fill our own shop: map the seat, confirm what it needs to hold, and go find the person who fits it.
Most of the owners who call us are done posting a role only a certified tradesperson can fill and hearing from people who have never held the ticket, and want someone who understands what the ticket actually means running the screening.
Whatever the trade, it goes through the same search: mapped, screened, and interviewed against a real job description, with the ticket confirmed before anyone reaches your shortlist.
A Red Seal endorsement means a tradesperson is certified to work anywhere in Canada, unsupervised, to the same standard. A provincial certificate of qualification means they are certified to work in Manitoba. Either way, that tells you what they are legally allowed to do. It does not tell you if they will fit your shop.
Manitoba runs a 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio on new agreements. Every apprentice you take on needs a certified journeyperson or a designated trainer assigned to supervise them on your floor, which changes how many apprentices a shop can actually carry at once.
A resume can say Red Seal welder. It does not say whether the ticket is current, whether it covers the process your shop runs, or whether the licence class matches the equipment on your floor. That gets confirmed before an offer goes out, not after.
Service dispatch, HVAC and industrial electrical roles often carry an on-call rotation or a shift pattern that never shows up in the job posting. Naming that up front, and screening for who genuinely wants that schedule, saves you a resignation in month two.
Alberta and Saskatchewan wages pull journeypersons out of Manitoba, especially in welding, millwrighting and heavy-duty mechanics. A search that does not account for that competition undersells the role before it is even posted.
Job Bank rates the 2025 to 2027 employment outlook in Manitoba as Moderate for industrial electricians, for heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics, and for heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and as Limited for plumbers and for welders and related machine operators. A Moderate rating means job seekers and job openings are expected to be roughly in balance. A Limited rating means more job seekers than openings, by their own measure, across everyone who shares that occupation code. Neither rating tells you who is Red Seal, who holds the ticket your role needs, who has the shift availability you need, or who is willing to stay in Winnipeg instead of chasing a rotation out west. That gap is what the screening in a search closes.
Job Bank, Government of Canada. Job outlook for Industrial Electrician (NOC 72201), Manitoba: “The employment outlook will be Moderate for industrial electricians (NOC 72201) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.” Job outlook for Journeyman/woman Plumber (NOC 72300), Manitoba: “The employment outlook will be Limited for plumbers (NOC 72300) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.” Job outlook for Welder (NOC 72106), Manitoba: “The employment outlook will be Limited for welders and related machine operators (NOC 72106) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.” Job outlook for Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Mechanic (NOC 72402), Manitoba: “The employment outlook will be Moderate for heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics (NOC 72402) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.” Job outlook for Heavy Equipment Mechanic (NOC 72401), Manitoba: “The employment outlook will be Moderate for heavy-duty equipment mechanics (NOC 72401) in Manitoba for the 2025-2027 period.” Outlooks updated 10 December 2025.
Winnipeg employers reported 10,565 job vacancies in the first quarter of 2026, a vacancy rate of 2.7%, at an average offered hourly wage of $27.20, across all industries.
Statistics Canada, table 14-10-0441-01, Job vacancies, payroll employees, job vacancy rate and average offered hourly wage by economic regions, quarterly, unadjusted for seasonality. Winnipeg, Manitoba, reference period 2026-01 (first quarter of 2026). All industries, not trades alone.
Manitoba restored a 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio for new apprenticeship agreements entered on or after October 30, 2024, after several years at 2:1. That means the floor needs a certified journeyperson or a designated trainer assigned for every apprentice on it, before that apprentice can be hired.
Province of Manitoba news release, “Manitoba Government Supports Workers by Restoring 1:1 Apprenticeship Ratio,” October 22, 2024: “Regulatory changes that restore the 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio and modernize training programs will come into effect Oct. 30.”
The same search we would run to fill a seat on our own floor.
What the role reports to, which ticket, licence or certificate of qualification it needs, and what shift or on-call pattern comes with it.
We draft it with you, naming the ticket, the licence class and the shift or physical demands the role actually has.
Every candidate takes a DISC assessment and a structured video screen on Quadrant, plus knockout questions on tickets, licence and shift availability, before anyone reaches your shortlist.
You meet the finalists with the DISC profile, video-screen notes and our recommendation already in hand.
Trades seats do not get a different fee. They get the same screening, run by someone who knows what a ticket and a licence class are for.
15%of first-year base salary
$5,000 minimum per role, charged once. We run the whole search, including the interviewing, and you decide how involved you want to be.
Start a search$2,999One Hire, per role
Or Always Hiring: $1,500 a month for up to three roles at a time, or $2,999 a month for up to ten, three-month minimum. We post and screen, you run the interviews.
See Hiring ServicesOn Contract Recruiting: if the person you hire resigns through no fault of yours, or is dismissed for cause, inside 90 days, we run the search again once, at no additional fee.
| Contract Recruiting | Hiring Services | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | 15% of first-year base salary, $5,000 minimum, charged once | $2,999 per role, or $1,500 to $2,999 a month |
| Who screens | Us, with Quadrant's DISC, video screen and knockout questions | Us, with the same Quadrant screening |
| Who interviews | Us, alongside you as much as you want | You, from a ranked shortlist |
| Best for | A ticketed seat you need filled and off your plate | Owners who still want to run the interviews |
I have sat across the table from shop owners about to hire someone off a job title alone, because the resume said the right words and nobody had time to check the rest. A ticket tells you what someone is legally allowed to do. It does not tell you whether they will show up for the Monday morning start, follow lockout and tagout without being reminded, or fit a shop that already has its own way of doing things.
The tradespeople who work out are rarely the ones with the flashiest resume. They are the ones who can read a print, ask the right question before touching equipment they have not run before, and slot into a crew that was already moving before they walked in. That is what the screening on a trades search is built to find, not just whether the ticket is real.
Rod Penner, People Purpose
Yes. This is built for shops, dealerships, manufacturers and service companies hiring electricians, plumbers and gasfitters, HVAC and refrigeration mechanics, millwrights, welders, heavy-duty and automotive technicians, machinists and CNC operators, not just construction contractors. The search runs the same way: map the seat, confirm the ticket, and screen before you meet anyone.
Yes. We source and screen journeypersons across Red Seal trades the same way we do every other role: confirm the ticket, run the Quadrant assessment, and put a structured video screen and knockout questions on the tickets and licence class your role needs in front of every candidate before you see a shortlist.
We hire apprentices too. Manitoba runs a 1:1 apprentice-to-journeyperson ratio on new agreements, so we talk with you up front about who on your floor is certified to supervise them, because that is a real staffing commitment, not a line on an org chart.
Knockout questions on the certificate of qualification, Red Seal endorsement, licence class and any safety tickets your role requires run through Quadrant before anyone reaches your shortlist. If a role needs a specific welding process or an insurable driving abstract, we ask before you spend an hour interviewing someone who cannot legally do the work.
Yes. Service dispatch, HVAC and industrial electrical roles often carry an on-call rotation or a shift pattern that never shows up in a job posting. We name it in the job description and screen for who genuinely wants that schedule, not just who needs a job.
If the person you hire resigns through no fault of yours, or is dismissed for cause, inside 90 days, we run the search again once, at no additional fee. It is written into the contract, not a handshake.
Not ready for a full search? See Hiring Services, by the job or by the month. Hiring for a construction crew instead? See construction recruiting.
A 20-minute call. We will ask what the role has to own, what ticket or licence it needs, and who it reports to. If we are not the right fit for it, we will say so on the call.
We answer every enquiry within one business hour.
Prefer to talk? 204-921-1000 or rod@people-purpose.com.