Carpentry is an exciting trade, which is in high demand! It is a very skilled trade, with carpenters using natural materials (wood/timber) to cut, shape and install wooden structures, fittings and furniture.

In the UK there are more than 5,000 organisations who recruit carpenters, with an estimated turnover of nearly £4 billion.

With so much demand, you might be wondering how to become a carpenter? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

There are several different routes you can take to become a carpenter or joiner. You might be someone that is looking to earn while they learn, and the good news is, you can do this through an apprenticeship. Or you might be someone that wants to complete a course to learn some skills before entering the carpentry – whether this be full-time or part-time with evening courses.

Let’s look at the options in a little bit more detail.

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship is a fantastic way of entering the industry, and can be a great way to get your foot in the door with a local organisation that is looking to grow and develop their workforce.

Apprenticeships are open to anyone over the age of 16, so you could be a school leaver, or someone that wants to turn their passion into a career. As an apprentice you will be employed by the company, and complete training at college – you will be expected to work at least 30 hours a week, with the rest of your hours being training.

You can complete apprenticeships at a number of Levels, depending on your experience and skill level. At Weston College, we offer several different carpentry apprenticeships, click the course below to find out more:

• Carpentry and Joinery Level 2 – 14 months
• Site Carpentry Level 2 – 14 months
• Carpentry and Joinery Level 3 – 12 months
• Site Carpentry Level 3 – 12 months

Once you have completed your apprenticeship, you can either further your development by studying the next level, or go into full-time work.

Before you work on a construction site, you will need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card.

College Courses

If you would prefer to study at College, there are a range of options available, from full-time courses to shorter part-time courses.

We offer courses for Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3, which all aim to develop your skills and prepare you for life as a carpenter.

On our full-time courses you will be part of our Construction Career Excellence Hub, which means that you will get unrivalled access to employers, with opportunities for work experience, master classes and hearing from industry insiders. Our construction courses are all endorsed by organisations from industry.

We also offer FREE adult courses in Carpentry, which allow you to sharpen your skills and are a great opportunity to change careers.

If you'd like to find out more about a career in carpentry, come along to one of our open evenings and chat to the team, they will be more than happy to help!

Last year, Weston College worked in partnership with construction company Willmott Dixon, to launch Constructing Lives Together, which aimed to support local adults to enter the construction industry.

One-year on, we have seen how beneficial this has been for the community, with local people having the opportunity to gain the certification and skills needed to enter the construction industry – including Karen, who is now a full-time Assistant Logistics Manager.

After a successful nine-year military career, Karen and her partner started a family, unaware to her at the time that it would 16 years until she would resume her career.

“I’d considered all kinds of jobs in the meantime to be honest but everything had to be flexible around childcare – caring, retail, office work just wasn’t me.”

Initially, Karen found work in the office of a construction company. They realised that her passion and previous experience as a Logistics Officer meant she would be more suitable on site.

18-months later, although armed with some initial experience and exposure, her career in construction hadn’t progressed and contract delays had meant that Karen was out of work, still lacking key qualifications and unsure about her next move.

Karen said: “I felt a bit stuck. I had enjoyed my first foray into construction but didn’t really have anything to show for it. I reached out to Weston College thinking maybe I would look at some trade qualifications, maybe carpentry. That was when the college reached out to me to tell me about the Constructing Lives Together programme.”

Karen signed up for the initiative, and soon found her first on-site experience, working at the Bristol Beacon for an initial two-week work experience period, with Willmott Dixon. The Bristol Beacon is a large complex build but the management team, used to supporting new entrants and apprentices made Karen feel at ease and supported.

Karren added: “I loved it from the start. I loved the people, the different characters, different backgrounds but that everyone was all pulling together as a team for the end result. It’s the closest thing to the military I’ve experienced.”

Two-weeks quickly turned into an extra three-weeks on a paid basis, because Karen had performed so well.

After six months, Karen’s hard work was rewarded with a full-time permanent contract with Willmott Dixon. She started without having the experience of a large construction site, but in such a short time, she is playing a crucial role in the day-to-day running of the site logistics for one of the biggest projects in Bristol.

When asked what this meant to her, Karen said: “The simplest way I can describe it is that I feel like I have my life back! This job is challenging and tough at times but ever so rewarding. I love it.

“I am really grateful to everyone involved, Weston College, Willmott Dixon, Acorn and the Constructing Lives Together programme. It couldn’t have happened if the programme wasn’t there allowing me to do my CSCS training and brokering the opportunity to get on site with Willmott Dixon.”

“I’m just going to give it my all, keep learning and hopefully once the internals of the building are in full-swing I can keep learning and work towards the skills and experience needed to be a Build Manager.”

Find out more about the Constructing Lives Together programme, which is being funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), by clicking here.

Dear Parent/Carer

You will be aware from recent media coverage that there have been concerns raised regarding social-media influencers, not solely, but in particular when it comes to their potential impact on boys and young men.

You may already be aware of one such individual, Andrew Tate, who describes himself as “absolutely a misogynist’. There have been a number of recent stories which have related to his recent arrest and detainment in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group. It has become evident that many young men and boys have not been put off following Tate or being influenced by his negative messages. We are aware that some learners are aware of Tate and the opinions he shares online.

Whilst some of Tate’s posts appear to focus on wellbeing and mental health, they are combined with deeply misogynistic, sexist, homophobic, and violent material including:

• Saying that rape victims put themselves “in a position to be raped” and “must bear some responsibility”, claiming most do this for advancement in ‘opportunity’.

• Claiming mental illness makes people ‘weak’ and that depression ‘isn’t real’.

• Promoting gendered violence and misogyny on his podcast and posts about relationships.

• Saying "I'm a realist and when you're a realist you're sexist. There's no way you can be rooted in reality and not be sexist."

• Saying that there is no such thing as an independent female and that women belong to men.

It is clear that the content of Tate’s posts are directly in conflict with the messages and values we, at Weston College believe should be shared with our community, especially with our male learners. We believe he portrays a negative role model for young men and boys and has shared very troubling stereotypes about women, those struggling with mental health and members of the LGBTQ+ community. We also recognise that many learners still have questions regarding Tate’s values and social media content.

Tate’s social media content has been banned from many social media platforms but there is still a possibility that learners will come across these as they use the internet. We would also urge you to take the time to regularly monitor internet activity at home, as well as have open and honest discussions on this and other related topics.

This is an important safeguarding exercise that I know all parents and carers will take seriously and as a college, Student Services and curriculum are already implementing strategies to further educate our learners about the dangers of Tate’s messages as part of their programme of study looking at equalities, consent and healthy relationships.

If you would like to talk to your child about this issue the online education support service, Bold Voices, have produced an informative and helpful guide for parents to help them talk to their children about Tate and the issues his posts raise. Safer Schools have also provided further information and advice in relation to this harmful content.

If you are concerned about this or have any other worries relating to your child, please contact their tutor. A reminder that if a learner has a concern about themselves or a peer, they can also talk confidentially with our welfare team who are available at all campuses or contactable via welfare@weston.ac.uk.