About XLR8ed Learning
Built by Tradespeople,
For Tradespeople.
About Dana Marshall, Co-Founder
Dana Marshall co-founded XLR8ed Learning and is a Red Seal certified Millwright (433A) whose hands-on career centred on robotics and machine automation. Across more than 25 years in Canadian skilled trades, he developed both the technical depth of a working tradesperson and the instincts of an educator.
He taught at Cambrian College in Sudbury for over 20 years and holds a diploma in education from Western University. That combination put him on both sides of the trades. He built curriculum and the assessment tools the Red Seal system depends on, and he taught the apprentices who would go on to write the exam. The work gave him an inside understanding of how Red Seal exams are constructed, and just as importantly, why capable and experienced tradespeople were still failing them.
His involvement in the trades reaches beyond the classroom. Dana has coached competitors for Skills Ontario at the provincial level and served as a judge at the Skills Canada National Competition. That work kept him close to how the next generation of tradespeople is trained and tested.
It started informally. Around 2013, past work colleagues and former students began coming to him for help preparing for their Red Seal exams. Being paid for it never really crossed his mind. It was simply what you did for people in the trade. The results were consistent enough that in 2018 he and Tera-Lee turned that work into XLR8ed Learning, a company built to give skilled tradespeople across Canada exam preparation that reflects how the exam actually works, and how tradespeople actually learn.
Today, XLR8ed Learning covers six Red Seal trades — Millwright, Machinist, Welder, Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, and our newest course, Plumber.
We exist for one reason: to get you through your Red Seal exam.
About Tera-Lee Marshall, Co-Founder and President
Tera-Lee Marshall co-founded XLR8ed Learning with Dana in 2018 and serves as President of the company. She is a member of Thessalon First Nation and holds the majority of XLR8ed Learning's voting shares, which is the basis for the company's recognition as a Certified Indigenous Business through the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business.
Her background is in retail operations. She spent more than 20 years with Costco, working in a series of management roles, including department manager, leading teams through the demands of one of the highest-volume retail environments in Canada. That work runs on the same things a growing company runs on: people, standards, and holding both to a consistent level day after day.
At XLR8ed Learning she oversees project management and financial decision-making, working alongside Dana on how the company grows and where it invests.
Our Story
Dana Marshall, a Red Seal-certified tradesperson and former college faculty member, began helping former colleagues prepare their apprentices for the Red Seal exam — at no charge.
The early materials produced consistent exam pass rates. Dana began planning how to deliver Red Seal exam preparation to skilled tradespeople across Canada.
The first online Red Seal exam preparation course launched as a free public pilot. Feedback from tradespeople across Canada shaped how every course since has been built — task by task, aligned to the Red Seal Occupational Standards.
Dana and Tera-Lee Marshall incorporated XLR8ed Learning Ltd. in Greater Sudbury, Ontario — Certified Indigenous Business through the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB). The Red Seal Millwright (433A) exam preparation course launched as the company’s first paid offering.
The Red Seal Machinist (429A) exam preparation course launched as XLR8ed Learning’s second trade.
The Red Seal Welder (456A) exam preparation course launched, expanding XLR8ed Learning’s catalogue to three trades.
The Red Seal Construction Electrician (309A) exam preparation course launched in November, bringing XLR8ed Learning’s catalogue to four trades.
The Red Seal Industrial Electrician (442A) exam preparation course launched in May, expanding XLR8ed Learning’s catalogue to five trades.
The Red Seal Plumber (306A) course launched in August, bringing XLR8ed Learning to six trades.
RECOGNIZED & AFFILIATED
Proud Members of the Canadian Business Community
Common Questions About XLR8ed Learning
XLR8ed Learning was founded by Dana Marshall, a Red Seal-certified Millwright (433A) who taught skilled trades at Cambrian College for over 20 years. He started the company in 2018, after years of informally helping colleagues and former students prepare for their Red Seal exams.
XLR8ed Learning is based in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, and delivers its Red Seal exam preparation courses online to apprentices and tradespeople across Canada.
Yes. XLR8ed Learning is a Certified Indigenous Business through the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB).
Six trades are available now — Millwright, Machinist, Welder, Construction Electrician, Industrial Electrician, and Plumber — with more trades planned.
Each course is delivered online and aligned task by task to the Red Seal Occupational Standards for that trade, so preparation maps directly to what the exam covers. Courses are reviewed and updated monthly based on feedback from clients who have written the exam and changes to the standards.
The Commitment to Completion Plan is for clients who need more time. It provides ongoing exam preparation support that continues until they pass their Red Seal exam.
The courses are built for apprentices and experienced tradespeople across Canada preparing to write — or rewrite — their Red Seal certification exam.
Courses are built by a Red Seal tradesperson and former college instructor, aligned task by task to the Red Seal Occupational Standards rather than generic study guides, and updated monthly to stay current with the exam.
The Red Seal Exam Changes. So Do We.
Red Seal exams evolve. Trade practices evolve. The way people learn evolves. A course built once and left alone becomes stale — and a stale course fails the people relying on it.
Every XLR8ed Learning Red Seal exam preparation course is reviewed and updated monthly. Updates are driven by three things: feedback from clients who have written the exam, changes to the Red Seal Occupational Standards, and advances in how we deliver the course experience. Nothing is left unchanged simply because it worked before.
This is not a platform that publishes a course and moves on. It is a platform that treats exam preparation as a living commitment — to the trades, and to every person preparing to write.