The Carpentry program provides you with the entry-level skills required to work in the home construction industry or a related field of carpentry. The program covers safety, hand tools, power tools, use of a transit, blue prints, pneumatic fasteners, computer assisted design, and estimation. This instruction combined with hands-on experience in and out of the shop compliment the main emphasis of the phases of residential construction.

Qualities and Characteristics of the Program

·         ambitious

·         systematic

·         persistent

·         athletic

·         can work independently

If you have

• the ability to follow oral and written directions
• proficient in math, preferably Algebra
• the ability to bend, stretch, twist, reach, or jump
• no fear of heights
• manual dexterity
• the ability to lift, push, pull, or carry objects

If you like to

• work with tools and power equipment
• work in all types of weather
• perform physical work
• work cooperatively with others as well as independently

You will need

• work shoes
• coveralls
• personal safety equipment and basic hand tools

If you think

• these qualities and characteristics describe YOU

This may be the program you are looking for!

Nature of the Program:  Carpenters must perform a variety of tasks on a day-to-day basis. They can work in planning mills, industrial plants, cabinet and millwork factories, or for a building or remodeling contractor. They may work alone or with a group. A carpenter can work indoors but usually works outdoors depending on the project. They usually work between 40 and 50 hours a week depending on the type of job and who employs them. This can be a strenuous job. Most days include prolonged standing, climbing, bending, and kneeling.  If carpenters work for a general contactor or for themselves, they may change employers at the end of each construction job or alternate working on smaller jobs.  Some of the activities of carpenters are as follows but are not limited to rough and finish carpentry, roofing and siding, concrete formwork, flooring, drywall, estimating, and layout.

Completion of the Program:  Upon completion of the carpentry program, students should have the qualifications to start a career as a carpenter’s helper for a contractor, government agency, industrial plant, cabinet and millwork factory, or planning mill. After meeting the requirements, students may also apply for entrance into an apprenticeship program or at a post secondary program.

Related Occupations:  Millwright, cabinetmaker, construction supervisor or foreman, lumber products store manager, estimator, materials sales, rough or finish carpenter, or roofer.