How to Hire a Painter in Canada?

Besides the points mentioned above, we consider the applicants’ academic history and any formal painting training or certification they may have attained, such as completion of painting apprenticeship programs, vocational training, safety certifications, or specialized courses in painting techniques.

The following certifications are highly regarded in the Canadian painting industry and demonstrate a painter’s knowledge, skills, and commitment to professional standards:

• Red Seal Certification: The Red Seal Certification is a nationally recognized endorsement for skilled trades, including painting. It signifies that a painter has met the required standards of competency and knowledge in their profession.
• Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program: This program ensures that painters who hold a Red Seal certification have the skills and qualifications necessary to work across different provinces in Canada, promoting mobility and recognition of their expertise.
• NACE Coating Inspector Certification: NACE International offers certifications for coating inspectors specializing in corrosion control and protective coatings. These certifications are particularly relevant for painters involved in industrial or commercial projects where corrosion prevention is critical.
• Safety Certifications: Various safety certifications, such as the Construction Safety Training System (CSTS) or the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) certifications, are essential for painters to ensure they are knowledgeable about safety protocols, hazard identification, and safe work practices.

Depending on a given province or territory in Canada, the painters should hold the following certifications:

4. Job Interview

Once we check the painting applicants’ resumes, we invite the most qualified candidates for job interviews. These interviews allow us to learn more about their skills, experience, and overall suitability for the job.

During the interview, we ask candidates a combination of general and more technical painting-related questions.

Here are a few general questions we typically ask:

• Can you tell me about your previous experience as a painter?
• What types of painting projects have you worked on in the past?
• How do you ensure safety measures are followed during painting projects?
• Are you familiar with Canadian safety regulations and guidelines related to painting work?
• How do you handle tight deadlines and prioritize tasks on a painting project?
• Can you describe a challenging situation you encountered on a painting job and how you resolved it?
• What qualities do you think are essential for a painter to possess?

We also ask the candidates some more technical questions regarding painting strategies, including:

• What painting techniques and methods are you proficient in?
• Have you worked with different types of paint (e.g., latex, oil-based) and surfaces (e.g., walls, ceilings, wood)?
• Are you knowledgeable about proper surface preparation, including cleaning, sanding, and priming?
• What tools and equipment are you skilled in using for painting projects?
• How do you ensure smooth and even paint application without streaks or brush marks?
• Can you explain the difference between using a roller and a paintbrush?
• Have you worked with specialty coatings or finishes, such as textured or faux painting techniques?

5. Checking References

We need to hire you a reliable painter who can be trusted in your client’s homes or businesses. Conducting reference checks is a fundamental aspect of our painter hiring process. By so doing, we can gather valuable insights into their technical and personal attributes and soft skills, including their capacity to engage effectively with customers and their work ethic.

The ideal painter should possess the versatility to handle various jobs, including interior, exterior, and commercial projects, regardless of their scale. Therefore, we request references that can verify the applicant’s proficiency in critical areas, such as:

• Proficiency in surface preparation techniques
• Quality of work as attested by previous customers
• Ability to adhere to project budgets
• Timeliness and effectiveness of communication

We follow these procedures for checking references:

• Contacting references: We reach out to the provided references via email or phone.
• Asking questions: During the conversation with the references, we ask open-ended questions to encourage detailed responses. We then take detailed notes on the reference’s feedback. Some of the questions we may ask include:
  • How would you describe the candidate’s work ethic and reliability?
  • Did the candidate demonstrate good time management and the ability to meet deadlines?
  • Can you share any instances where the candidate showed problem-solving skills in their work?
  • Did the candidate demonstrate attention to detail in their painting work?
  • How would you rate the candidate’s professionalism and attitude towards their job?
  • Would you rehire the candidate if given the opportunity?
• Verifying information: We cross-reference the information provided by the reference with the candidate’s resume and interview performance to ensure consistency.
• Reporting the results: We carefully document the results from the reference checks and provide a comprehensive report. We also ensure to keep the documents confidential.

6. Assessing the Painting Candidates

Once we have confirmed that the painting candidates possess the essential qualifications and certifications, our recruiters proceed to evaluate their skills through rigorous painting assessments.

To gauge their abilities and fit for the role, we get candidates to undertake a series of tasks within a simulated painting environment. As candidates perform the painting tasks, our specialists closely observe their techniques, precision, attention to detail, and overall quality.

These tasks include a range of activities, including technical and overall assessments:

Technical Assessment

• Defining the painting tasks: We test the applicants on some specific painting tasks that align with the requirements of the job, including surface preparation, applying primer and paint, creating different finishes or textures, and clean-up procedures.
• Providing a sample project or task: We offer a sample project or task, allowing the painting candidates to showcase their skills and techniques. This usually involves painting a designated area, reproducing a specific texture or pattern, or solving a painting challenge within a given timeframe. By doing so, we can test the candidates on skills such as polishing or sanding, lubrication with oil, plastering of surfaces, first liner, staining, performing painting techniques such as patina, and cleaning surfaces.
• Assessing even surface coverage: We evaluate the candidates’ ability to apply paint evenly across surfaces, ensuring consistent coverage without patchiness or thin areas.
• Checking gaps: We assess the candidates’ attention to detail in filling gaps or seams, ensuring that all areas are properly filled and smooth.
• Checking uniformity: We evaluate the candidates’ capability to achieve uniformity in colour, texture, and finish throughout the painted surfaces, avoiding any noticeable variations.
• Checking small areas: We assess the painting applicants’ precision in painting small and intricate areas, such as corners, edges, and trim, ensuring they are flawlessly painted without any smudges or unevenness.
• Assessing the use of smooth paint coats: We also evaluate the candidates’ ability to apply paint with a smooth and consistent finish, avoiding brush marks, roller lines, or any other imperfections.
• Assessing clear colour separation: We assess the painters’ proficiency in achieving clean and distinct colour separation, especially when working on surfaces with multiple colours or when creating decorative patterns.
• Checking paint bleeding: We evaluate the candidates’ skill in preventing paint bleeding, where colours bleed into each other or onto adjacent surfaces, ensuring crisp and defined boundaries.
• Assessing faux finishes: If faux finishes are required, we assess the applicants’ expertise in creating various decorative techniques, such as marbling, stippling, glazing, or faux wood grain, with attention to detail and realistic results.
• Assessing mathematical skills: Painters often need to work with precise measurements to ensure uniform coverage and achieve the desired finish. We test their mathematical skills to verify whether they can accurately measure surfaces, calculate proportions for mixing paint, and ensure consistent application techniques.
• Assessing the candidates’ colour psychology knowledge: As the use of specific colours affects people’s mood, we assess the painting candidates’ knowledge of colour psychology, for instance, their usage of colour in the kitchen, bedrooms, or the children’s bedrooms. This allows us to identify individuals who can bring a deeper understanding of colour to their work, enabling them to create visually appealing, emotionally resonant, and harmonious spaces for clients.
• Assessing cleaning skills: After finishing the paintwork, we need to ensure the site they have painted is perfect, as they must clean every spill or splatter of paint and hand over the spotless territory to the customers.

Overall Assessment

• Observing safety practices: We closely monitor the candidates’ adherence to safety protocols during the assessment. We look for their use of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, safety glasses, and masks. We assess their awareness of potential hazards and ability to take necessary precautions to mitigate risks.
• Assessing time management: We assess the candidates’ ability to manage their time effectively while completing the painting tasks. We evaluate their efficiency in planning and organizing the work, meeting deadlines, and maintaining a steady pace without compromising quality.
• Evaluating problem-solving skills: We introduce unexpected scenarios or challenges during the assessment to assess candidates’ problem-solving abilities. This can involve asking them to address paint defects, adjust to different surfaces, or resolve technical issues encountered during the painting process.
• Putting the candidates in unpredictable situations: We put them in unexpected situations where they have to think outside of the box or when there are change orders by the customers. We test them on how they deal with change orders in the scope of the work. For instance, a painting project sometimes requires more work than initially anticipated.
• Considering communication and collaboration: If the painting job requires interaction with clients or working in a team, we incorporate elements that assess the painting candidates’ communication skills, ability to follow instructions, and collaboration with others.

7. Training the Painters

After the evaluation process, we select the accepted candidates for further training. We recognize the importance of providing additional support and training to painting candidates who may benefit from a deeper understanding of your company’s specific requirements prior to their official hiring.

By offering tailored training programs, we ensure that your future painters are well-prepared, confident, and equipped with the necessary skills to meet your company’s specific requirements.

Here are some instances of how we facilitate the preparation of your future painters through targeted training:

• Company-specific training: We offer specialized training sessions that focus on familiarizing candidates with your company’s unique painting procedures, techniques, and quality standards. This ensures that they are well-prepared to meet your specific expectations.
• Offering novel technical skills: Our training programs encompass hands-on exercises and demonstrations to enhance candidates’ technical painting skills. This includes novel painting methods, particularly regarding interior, exterior, and graffiti paintings.
• Safety and compliance training: We prioritize the safety of your painting team and the adherence to industry regulations. Our training covers essential safety protocols, proper handling of hazardous materials containing toxic chemicals, and compliance with relevant health and safety guidelines.
• Cleaning skills: The candidates may be professional but still lack cleaning skills. We train them on cleaning up after work, ensuring that they understand the significance of leaving the site in a clean and satisfactory condition. This contributes to overall professionalism, customer satisfaction, safety, and long-term project maintenance.
• Product and material familiarization: We provide comprehensive training on different novel painting products, materials, and tools commonly used in the industry.
• Mathematical Skills: Our training program for painting candidates includes instructions on calculating the cost of building painting. We cover factors such as the type of paint, labour costs, overhead expenses, and estimating the time required for the project. This training equips candidates with the necessary skills to provide accurate and competitive cost estimates.
• Communication skills: We train the prospective candidates on strong communication skills and a thorough understanding of customer responsibilities. They are responsible for guiding customers on the necessary actions before, during, and after the painting process. This may include advising customers to choose paint colours, not bringing pets to the workplace, ensuring children are not present in the work area, and maintaining proper ventilation.

8. Drawing up a Contract

After training the selected candidates, they are ready to start working in your company.

For drawing up a contract with painting candidates, we clearly outline the terms and expectations of the working relationship by consulting with our legal professionals:

Here are the steps we follow when drawing up a contract:

• Defining the scope of work: We clearly define the scope of the painting project in the contract, including details such as the location, specific areas to be painted, desired finishes, and any additional tasks or services required.
• Specifying timeline and deadlines: We set clear timelines and deadlines for the project, including start and end dates, milestones, and any intermediate deadlines for completing specific phases or tasks. This ensures that both parties are aligned on the expected timeline.
• Outlining payment terms: We clearly specify the payment terms in the contract, which include the total cost of the project, payment schedule (e.g., upfront deposit, progress payments, and final payment), accepted payment methods, and any additional fees or charges.
• Including materials and equipment: We also specify who will be responsible for providing the necessary painting materials, tools, and equipment, by clarifying whether the contractor will supply these items or if the client will provide them.
• Addressing change orders and additional work: We define the process for handling change orders or requests for additional work. We outline how any modifications to the original scope will be handled, including procedures for obtaining approval, pricing adjustments, and timeline revisions.
• Employment medical check: We include provisions to ensure the painters’ suitability for the role, which includes assessing their medical background to confirm their ability to work with paints safely. By verifying their health status, we aim to protect both the painters’ well-being and the clients’ interests, ensuring a safe and productive working environment.
• Including warranty and liability: We specify any warranties or guarantees provided by the painting contractor regarding the quality of their workmanship and materials used. We address liability and insurance requirements to protect both parties in the event of accidents, damages, or unforeseen circumstances.
• Confidentiality and non-disclosure: If necessary, we include clauses related to confidentiality and non-disclosure of sensitive information or proprietary materials shared during the project. This ensures the protection of trade secrets or confidential information.
• Termination and dispute resolution: We clearly outline the conditions under which either party can terminate the contract by including procedures for dispute resolution, such as mediation or arbitration, to address any conflicts that may arise.
• Review and signatures: We have you and the candidates thoroughly review the contract, ensuring you understand and agree to all terms and conditions. Once everyone is satisfied, we obtain signatures from you and the candidate as evidence of mutual agreement.

Labour Laws and Regulations for Hiring a Painter in Canada

When hiring a painter in Canada, it is essential to ensure compliance with the applicable labour laws and regulations in your province or territory.

Here are some essential labour laws and regulations that may apply to your painting employees in Canada:

• Employment standards: Each province and territory in Canada has its own set of employment standards legislation that governs various aspects of the employment relationship. This includes minimum wage requirements, working hours, overtime pay, vacation and holiday entitlements, and termination and severance provisions. You must familiarize yourself with the specific employment standards applicable in your province or territory.
• Occupational health and safety: Occupational health and safety laws and regulations are in place to protect your workers from hazards and ensure safe working conditions. These regulations cover areas such as workplace safety protocols, training requirements, hazard identification and reporting, and the provision and use of personal protective equipment.
• Work permits and immigration: If you are hiring a painter from outside Canada, you may need to comply with federal immigration laws and obtain the necessary work permits or visas. You must consult the appropriate immigration authorities to understand the requirements and procedures for hiring foreign workers.
• Unionization and collective bargaining: If your painting business operates within a unionized environment, you must adhere to collective bargaining agreements and any specific labour relations laws applicable in your province or territory. These agreements govern aspects such as wages, benefits, working conditions, and dispute resolution processes.
• Human rights and discrimination: You need to ensure compliance with federal and provincial human rights legislation, which prohibits discrimination based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, religion, and disability. It is essential to maintain fair and inclusive hiring practices and provide equal opportunities to all candidates.

What is the Average Wage for Hiring a Painter in Canada?

The average wage for hiring a painter in Canada can vary depending on experience, location, the complexity of the project, and your specific industry or sector. However, the average hourly wage for painters in Canada ranges from CAD $17 to $38 per hour.

The following table showcases the average hourly wage ranges for painters in each province and territory of Canada:

What Different Types of Painters we Hire in Canada?

Depending on the specific requirements of your business, you can choose the right type of painters for your organization.

Here are some common types of painters we hire:

• Residential painters: These painters specialize in painting residential properties such as houses, apartments, and condominiums. They are skilled in applying various types of paints and finishes to interior and exterior surfaces.
• Commercial painters: Commercial painters focus on painting commercial buildings such as offices, retail stores, restaurants, and hotels. They are experienced in working with larger-scale projects and know commercial-grade paints and coatings.
• Industrial painters: Industrial painters are hired to paint industrial facilities such as factories, warehouses, manufacturing plants, and storage tanks. They are well-versed in applying specialized coatings to withstand harsh environments and ensure protection against corrosion.
• Decorative painters: Decorative painters specialize in creating unique and artistic finishes for both residential and commercial spaces. They possess skills in faux finishes, texture painting, mural painting, and other decorative techniques to enhance the aesthetic appeal of surfaces.
• Automotive painters: Automotive painters are employed in the automotive industry to paint and refinish vehicles. They have expertise in colour matching, surface preparation, and applying automotive paints for a flawless finish.
• Construction painters: Construction painters work on new construction projects, applying paint and coatings to newly built structures. They collaborate with construction teams and follow architectural plans to ensure proper paint application.
• Maintenance painters: Maintenance painters are responsible for ongoing painting and touch-up work in residential, commercial, or industrial settings. They address areas of wear and tear, perform regular maintenance painting, and maintain the appearance of the surfaces over time.

Takeaway

With our extensive experience and expertise in the industry, we have successfully partnered with a diverse range of organizations, from small companies to international firms, within the construction industry.

At Hookjobs, we take great pride in our exceptional track record of recruiting highly skilled painters. Our recruitment specialists are dedicated to delivering outstanding services tailored to your specific needs.

FAQs

Q1: How many hours do painters work in Canada?

A: The standard work week for painters and decorators 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.

Q2: What safety and liability precautions should I consider when hiring a professional painter in Canada?

A: You must ensure a safe working environment when hiring a professional painter by teaching them to maintain proper ventilation, which avoids open fumes near painting materials and prohibits smoking during painting activities.

Q3: How much does the Red Seal cost if I want to send my painters to this program?

A: Red Seal exam fees range from $150 and $480, depending on the province or territory.

Q4: Can I hire a foreign painter in my hotel in Canada?

A: Yes, it is possible to hire a foreign painter in your company in Canada. However, there are certain requirements and processes that need to be followed, such as the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.                           

Q5: Why should I hire a licensed painter in my company?

A: Hiring a licensed painter for your company ensures qualified expertise, adherence to industry and safety standards, and reduced liabilities compared to non-certified painters.

Q6: What are the necessary skills to consider when hiring a painter?

A: When hiring a painter, companies should consider painting techniques, colour and design knowledge, surface preparation, material and product knowledge, attention to detail, safety awareness, time management, and communication/customer service.

Q7: Why do I need to hire professional painters?

A: Professional painters offer higher quality and save you money in the long run. Their expertise and experience guarantee flawless results. They also have access to superior materials and tools, enhancing durability. Therefore, hiring professionals prevents costly mistakes and repairs.