Refining and petrochemical NDT Training in Quebec City — ASNT SNT-TC-1A

Quebec City's inspection work is concentrated across the river in Lévis. Valero's Jean Gaulin refinery runs about 265,000 barrels a day — Canada's second largest — giving continuous API-programme work on towers, exchangers, piping and tankage. Atlantis trains refining and petrochemical crews here to ASNT SNT-TC-1A where a customer, contract or code calls for it. Methods that matter here: UT thickness and PAUT dominate turnaround scopes, with RT, MT, PT and VT alongside.

Chantier Davie, now a National Shipbuilding Strategy yard, started production on the Canadian Coast Guard polar icebreaker Polar Max in March 2026 and in August 2026 took an $11.3-billion contract for six program icebreakers, making heavy plate welding and weld inspection the dominant local trade for the next decade. White Birch Paper's Stadacona mill in the Saint-Roch district makes newsprint and, since 2024, recycled kraft, above 250,000 tonnes a year. Port of Québec bulk terminals complete the base. Employers including Valero Jean Gaulin Refinery, Lévis, Chantier Davie Canada, Lévis, White Birch Paper Stadacona Mill set the qualification bar their contractors inherit. Level II is the working grade on a turnaround: it interprets and reports to an approved procedure, which is what the owner audits at the gate before mobilisation.

Source: ASNT SNT-TC-1A employer certification framework and CAN/CGSB-48.9712 (certification by NRCan or CWB Group); per-city industrial research file

ASNT SNT-TC-1A training and certification for Canadian employers

Atlantis NDT trains NDT personnel to ASNT SNT-TC-1A and helps Canadian employers certify them under their own written practice. Courses are led by founder Anoop Rayavarapu, ASNT NDT Level III in UT, RT, MT, PT and VT, and run year-round.

What Atlantis NDT provides

• Level I and Level II training: ASNT SNT-TC-1A Level I and Level II courses in UT, RT, MT, PT and VT, plus PAUT and TOFD courses, for which conventional UT Level II or equivalent UT experience is recommended first. Course hours follow the SNT-TC-1A recommended classroom hours for each method and level.
• Level III exam preparation: Preparation for the ASNT NDT Level III Basic and Method examinations, and for Level III examinations under an employer's written practice.
• Employer certification under your written practice: As your outside-agency Level III, Atlantis NDT's ASNT NDT Level III administers and grades the general, specific and practical examinations in UT, RT, MT, PT and VT, and helps you document each technician's training, experience, vision and examination records so that you can certify them under your written practice.
• Written practice: We write an SNT-TC-1A written practice for your company or review the one you have, so that your training, examinations and certification records follow it.
• ASNT central certification: Exam preparation for candidates applying to ASNT for ASNT NDT Level II (MT, PT, RT, UT, VT) or ASNT NDT Level III, which ASNT examines and certifies.

Who certifies

• Under SNT-TC-1A. Your employer certifies you, under its own written practice. The certification stays with that employer; a new employer recertifies you under its written practice.
• Under ASNT central certification. ASNT examines and certifies you for ASNT NDT Level II or ASNT NDT Level III, and the certificate is yours.
• Atlantis NDT. Trains you and, as your employer's outside-agency Level III, examines you and prepares the certification records. A course on its own never certifies anyone.

Who it is for

Employers whose customers, contracts or codes specify ASNT SNT-TC-1A or another employer-based scheme, for example:

• Aerospace and aviation. MRO and manufacturing, where your customer or approval specifies an employer-based scheme such as SNT-TC-1A or NAS 410. Atlantis NDT trains and examines to SNT-TC-1A only and does not run NAS 410 training; NAS 410 Level 3 services are available through an associate who holds NAS 410 Level 3. Transport Canada's advisory circular for approved maintenance organizations lists NAS 410, ATA Specification 105 and CAN/CGSB-48.9712 among its recognized NDT trade standards and does not list SNT-TC-1A, so check your approval first: Transport Canada AC 573-003.
• Maritime and shipbuilding. Shipyards, ship repair and marine service companies whose owner, contract or class requirements accept an SNT-TC-1A written practice.
• Nuclear supply chain. Fabricators and service companies doing nuclear supply-chain and US-code work that specifies SNT-TC-1A. This is not a route into in-service inspection at Canadian CANDU stations, where the licensee's inspection program sets the certification its NDT personnel must hold.
• Oil, gas and pipelines. Contractors and fabricators on US-owned or cross-border work, and crews that rotate between Canadian and US sites, where the client or code asks for SNT-TC-1A.

How the training runs

Courses run year-round and enrolment is open all year. Theory is online and primarily self-paced, with access from the moment you enrol and Level III support for questions. Practical training runs in the Practical NDT simulator and in person at your facility, where the practical examination is taken on real specimens. Atlantis NDT has no training centre in Canada.

Ask about ASNT SNT-TC-1A training in Canada: tell us the methods, levels and number of technicians, and the scheme your customer or contract names.

If your job specifies CAN/CGSB-48.9712

CAN/CGSB-48.9712, an identical adoption of ISO 9712, is Canada's national standard for NDT personnel certification and a third-party scheme. A job that specifies it needs a certificate from the Natural Resources Canada NDT Certification Body (NRCan NDTCB) or CWB Group, and method training from one of their Recognized Training Organizations (RTOs). Check the job posting, contract or client specification before you choose a course.

Atlantis NDT is not an RTO. Atlantis NDT is not a Recognized Training Organization for NRCan or CWB Group. Our courses do not count toward NRCan or CWB certification, so take CAN/CGSB-48.9712 method training with an RTO.

NRCan or CWB Group. CWB Group states there is no difference in validity, recognition or technical requirements between the two. The NRCan NDTCB requires at least 40% of course time to be practical. NRCan written exams are taken in person at its Authorized Examination Centres; CWB Group offers remote invigilation of written exams.

The CGSB has closed. The Canadian General Standards Board ceased operations on April 1, 2026. It published the standard; it did not issue certificates. CAN/CGSB-48.9712 remains valid through its current cycle, and NRCan says its certification services continue without change.

Level 3 study support. NRCan allows CAN/CGSB-48.9712 Level 3 preparation by courses or by self-study, provided the candidate gives documentary evidence of training acceptable to the NDTCB. The NDTCB decides what it accepts, so confirm with it before you rely on our study support: ask about Level 3 study support.

Official sources, checked October 2026:

• NRCan: apply for NDT certification
• NRCan: Recognized Training Organizations
• NRCan: training requirements and prerequisites
• NRCan: Authorized Examination Centres
• CWB Group: making sense of NDT personnel certification in Canada
• CWB Group: NDT personnel certification
• Transport Canada: AC 573-003, trade standards for personnel working in approved maintenance organizations

Which NDT methods should a refining and petrochemical team in Quebec City train first?

UT thickness and PAUT dominate turnaround scopes, with RT, MT, PT and VT alongside. Training the methods the sector actually runs puts technicians on chargeable work sooner than working through a generic method list, and it matches what the local employers audit for.

Which certification scheme applies to refining and petrochemical training in Quebec City?

ASNT SNT-TC-1A employer certification where a customer, contract or code calls for it, or CAN/CGSB-48.9712 certification from NRCan or CWB Group where the job specifies it. Level II is the working grade on a turnaround: it interprets and reports to an approved procedure, which is what the owner audits at the gate before mobilisation.

What is the difference between Level I, II and III here?

Level I performs set-ups and records results under supervision. Level II interprets and reports to an approved procedure, and is the working grade employers audit for. Level III approves procedures, qualifies personnel and signs the written practice — one per programme, and their method scope limits what they can sign.

Can training for a team in Quebec City be done online?

The theory can. It is online and primarily self-paced, with enrolment open all year and access from the moment you enrol, so technicians fit it around their shifts. Practical training runs in the Practical NDT simulator and in person at the employer's facility, and the practical examination is taken on real specimens under the written practice; no recognised scheme accepts a remote practical examination.

Who employs certified NDT technicians in Quebec City?

Valero Jean Gaulin Refinery, Lévis, Chantier Davie Canada, Lévis, White Birch Paper Stadacona Mill, Port of Québec bulk and liquid terminals and the contractors bidding into their supply chains. Approved-supplier requirements flow down, so a subcontractor inherits the qualification bar the top of the chain sets — which is why certification is a bidding issue rather than a training preference.

What does an employer need in place before refining and petrochemical training starts?

A written practice signed by a qualified Level III, the procedures technicians will work to, and a decision on which methods and levels the team needs. Firms without a Level III on staff contract one — that is the signing authority certification depends on, and training cannot supply it.

Related: refining and petrochemical certification requirements, NDT training across Quebec City, employer-sponsored training, ASNT certification by level and training hours by method. Budget holders comparing pay bands should see what a certified Level II earns.

Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III

Discuss your inspection requirements with Atlantis NDT. Include the asset, method, location and documents you need reviewed.