City trades hiring guide
- Local demand
- Wage context
- Contractor radar
Surrey Trades Jobs in 2026: SkyTrain South, Two Hospitals, and BC's Fastest-Growing City
Surrey trades hiring guide — Surrey-Langley SkyTrain (all 8 stations under construction), new Cloverdale hospital, Surrey Memorial expansion, multi-family residential boom, SkilledTradesBC framework, and wage ranges.
Free for workers · city-specific hiring context
Surrey will pass Vancouver in population this decade. The infrastructure is racing to catch up. A second hospital is being built from scratch, Surrey Memorial is mid-expansion, the SkyTrain is finally being extended south down Fraser Highway, and the multi-family residential builds are stacking up faster than anywhere else in BC.
For tradespeople this is a different market from Vancouver or Burnaby. Less industrial. Less waterfront. More transit civils, more hospital, and a residential and mid-rise construction pace that runs hot through the cycle.
What's actually hiring in Surrey right now
Surrey-Langley SkyTrain Extension. All eight stations are under construction. As of spring 2026 more than 30% of the elevated guideway is complete and trackwork started late April 2026 on the first section. Eight new stations: Green Timbers, 152 Street, Fleetwood, Bakerview-166 Street, Hillcrest-184 Street, Clayton, Willowbrook, and Langley City Centre. In-service target late 2029. The civil mainline is built by SLSE Constructors GP — Acciona, Aecon, Ghella JV. Stations and systems by separate consortia. This is the largest civil project ever undertaken in Surrey.
New Cloverdale hospital. A brand-new acute-care hospital is being built in Cloverdale to serve Surrey, North Delta, and Langley. Construction underway. This is one of the largest healthcare capital projects in BC.
Surrey Memorial Hospital expansion. Existing hospital is mid-build on a substantial expansion including the BC Cancer Centre. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and finishing trades on continuous draw.
Multi-family residential and high-rise. Surrey is the BC residential growth story. Whalley/City Centre, Guildford, Newton, Fleetwood — high-rise concrete and timber mid-rise builds at a pace nowhere else in Metro Vancouver can match. Bosa Properties, Westhill Land Group, Beedie, Tien Sher, Lark Group, PortLiving, and many others are all active.
SFU Surrey / Centre Block. Surrey's Centre Block work includes the future home of Simon Fraser University's new School of Medicine.
Industrial / logistics in the Fraser Valley belt. Newton industrial, Campbell Heights, Port Kells — logistics, food processing, agri-food. Steady industrial trades work for the right specialty.
Top trades in demand in Surrey
- Construction Electrician (Red Seal compulsory in BC) — Hospital, SkyTrain stations, residential, commercial. Electrician Surrey | electrician resume guide.
- Plumber (Red Seal) — Hospital, residential, commercial. Plumber Surrey | plumber resume guide.
- Refrigeration & AC Mechanic (compulsory in BC) — Hospital, commercial, food processing. HVAC Surrey | HVAC resume guide.
- Pipefitter/Steamfitter (compulsory in BC) — Hospital mechanical, industrial. Pipefitter Surrey | pipefitter resume guide.
- Sheet Metal Worker (compulsory in BC) — Commercial HVAC, hospital.
- Gasfitter A/B (compulsory in BC) — Residential and commercial.
- Carpenter — Form work for high-rise, residential framing, ICI finish. Carpenter Surrey | carpenter resume guide.
- Welder — Structural for high-rise and stations, mechanical. Welder Surrey | welder resume guide.
- Heavy Equipment Operator — SkyTrain civil works, residential and hospital site prep. HEO Surrey | HEO resume guide.
- Industrial Millwright — Food processing, agri-food, logistics. Millwright Surrey | millwright resume guide.
- Crane operator and ironworker — All the towers and stations need them.
How BC certification works (Surrey edition)
SkilledTradesBC (formerly the Industry Training Authority, renamed December 2022) administers apprenticeship and certification.
Seven trades became compulsory in 2024. As of 2026 those are: Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, Powerline Technician, Pipefitter/Steamfitter, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Mechanic, Sheet Metal Worker, and Gasfitter Class A and B. Working in these trades requires SkilledTradesBC certification or registration.
For Surrey-Langley SkyTrain work specifically:
- CSTS-BC safety, fall protection, confined space
- Trackwork specialty for the systems contractor — rail-grade welding, OCS work, signalling
- Crane signaller for station and guideway work
Heads up — an August 1, 2026 policy change tightens the rules around Level Challenger and Trade Qualifier pathways. After four unsuccessful exam attempts the candidate has to register as an apprentice. If you're an interprovincial journeyperson moving to BC, time your equivalency application before that change to avoid friction.
What you'll earn in Surrey
Hourly journeyperson base. Hospital and SkyTrain construction sit at the higher end. Residential framing carpenters lower. Specialty pressure trades and SkyTrain rail systems top of band.
| Trade | Surrey hourly wages (low / median / high) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Construction Electrician | $21.82 / $34.57 / $47.69 | NOC 72200 |
| Plumber | $22.00 / $30.00 / $48.00 | NOC 72300 |
| Refrigeration & AC Mechanic | $23.50 / $42.00 / $62.00 | NOC 72402; hospital premiums sit toward the high end |
| Pipefitter/Steamfitter | $25.00 / $38.51 / $57.55 | NOC 72301 |
| Sheet Metal Worker | $22.98 / $32.17 / $45.95 | NOC 72102 |
| Gasfitter A/B | $33.13 / $39.84 / $54.59 | NOC 72302 |
| Carpenter | $22.50 / $31.50 / $43.00 | NOC 72310; concrete formwork can price above median |
| Welder | $26.00 / $37.50 / $49.50 | NOC 72106; structural + rail premiums may price higher |
| Heavy Equipment Operator | $26.00 / $37.00 / $50.00 | NOC 73400 |
| Industrial Millwright | $23.00 / $37.00 / $48.08 | NOC 72400 |
| Ironworker (Reinforcing/Structural) | $26.00 / $38.09 / $50.59 | NOC 72105 |
Source: Job Bank — Lower Mainland–Southwest Region wage report, updated November 19, 2025. These are regional low / median / high hourly wages. LNG Canada and Cedar LNG in Kitimat continue to pull experienced BC pressure trades north; that can keep Lower Mainland pressure-trade offers above the reported medians when local contractors need people to stay.
Who's hiring: contractors active in Surrey
For SkyTrain civil: SLSE Constructors GP (Acciona, Aecon, Ghella). Stations consortia separate. Systems contractor (track, signalling, OCS) under separate procurement.
For hospital — Cloverdale and Surrey Memorial: EllisDon, PCL Westcoast, Graham Construction, Aecon Buildings, Bird Construction, Stuart Olson.
For high-rise residential and mixed-use: Ledcor, ITC Construction Group, Bosa Properties (in-house), Beedie, EllisDon, PCL, Graham.
For mechanical and electrical specialty: Modern Niagara, Black & McDonald, Houle Electric, Western Mechanical, Apollo Sheet Metal, Trotter & Morton.
For industrial and logistics: Bird Industrial, Ledcor Industrial, plus a strong tail of Fraser Valley specialty industrial.
For demolition and civil prep: Mierau Contractors, Cape Group, Active Earth Engineering.
The Surrey nuance
The Surrey market is the entry market for BC. A lot of journeypersons start their BC careers on Surrey residential and mid-rise before moving to industrial in Burnaby or pressure work in Kitimat. That means recruiters here see a lot of resumes from newer-to-BC trades — including interprovincial certificate-holders coming from Alberta and Ontario.
What stands out on a Surrey resume: SkilledTradesBC registration status (or the equivalency application reference number if pending), hospital experience, high-rise concrete experience for formwork carpenters, and any rail or transit work for trades who could move onto the SkyTrain civil.
Also worth knowing: the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain civil work peaks in 2026–2027. After that the work shifts to stations and systems — different trade mix. If you want on the guideway and elevated structure, the hiring window is now.
Where to start
Surrey recruiters filter on SkilledTradesBC registration, BC residency / work-eligibility, and hospital or transit experience. Surface those on your resume.
Drop your resume into your TradeCraft profile. We auto-extract trade, tickets, employer history, and SkilledTradesBC status. Surrey recruiters search by exact-match — Vancouver Lower Mainland recruiters search Surrey, Burnaby, Vancouver, and Coquitlam together because crews move across the bridges.