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Carpenter/Joiner

Do you want to become a Carpenter/Joiner? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

Carpenters and joiners work with wood. Working on building sites or in workshops, they make, fit or repair doors, windows, staircases, floorboards, roof trusses and partitions. They use traditional woodworking tools as well as specialised power or hand tools for cutting, shaping, smoothing and finishing.

There are four different types of carpenter/joiner:

• Bench joiners are mostly based in the workshop, making prefabricated parts such as doors, staircases, roof timbers and skirting boards.
• Fixers work on site, fitting the prefabricated parts into buildings.
• Shopfitters specialise in producing and fitting shop fronts and interiors.
• Formwork joiners make moulds (formwork) for concrete structures, such as pillars for motorways and multi-storey car parks, bridges, suspended floors and staircases.

The usual working week is 37.5 hours, Monday to Friday. On site, early starts are common. They spend a lot of time standing, bending, kneeling or crouching, and may have to carry heavy materials and tools.

Salaries range from around £12,500 to £21,000.

Carpenters and joiners need:

• good hand skills
• a careful, methodical and accurate approach to work
• the ability to follow drawings, plans and written or spoken instructions.

Carpenters or joiners can find work in for building or mechanical engineering services, building contractors, local authorities and shopfitting companies. Many are self-employed.

Employers usually expect entrants to have three to five GCSEs/S grades (A-E/1-5). Useful subjects are English, maths, science and technology. It is also helpful to get some work experience. Employers may be unwilling to train older people.

Young people can gain employment straight from school and train on the job as craftsmen/women, attending college or a training centre to gain qualifications such as NVQs/SVQs.

To progress to technician level, joiners and carpenters usually need four GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3), A levels/H grades, or a vocational college qualification. It is possible move into construction management or run one's own specialist firm.

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