Carpentry Apprenticeships - The Best Way To Upgrade Your Carpentry Skills

If you're interested in a carpentry career because you love to work with your hands and you want to learn from the best, there are many carpentry apprenticeships programs available to help you learn the trade. Typically, most programs can be completed within two to four years. While it may seem like you need to spend quite some time before you can finally learn the skill you want and make some money, don't worry as you're also getting paid while you're complete your on-the-job training.

Different apprenticeship programs will have require different training hours, depending on the complexity and specialty of a particular skill you wish to learn. You can expect to spend somewhere between 5,000 to 8,000 hours on work experience and 700 to 750 hours on classroom instructions. Most carpentry apprenticeships are often run by companies which are always looking to hire a new hand so once you have completed your training, finding a carpentry job with them should be easier because they are already familiar with the quality of your work.

In fact, if you take a look at most of the better job opportunities in the carpentry business, most companies prefer to hire someone who had gone through and completed some formal carpentry apprenticeships. This is hardly surprising as people with such qualifications often have better carpentry skills and thus able to work on most carpentry projects immediately without any further training or supervision.

How To Enroll In Carpentry Apprenticeships

Believe it or not, the carpentry business can be very competitive and finding a free apprenticeship position can be quite difficult if you don't have all the necessary qualifications. Even if you have completed your pre-apprenticeship training program at your high school, there is simply no guarantee that you will be accepted immediately because most employers are more willing to hire someone who is experienced and have some real skills in carpentry to be their apprentice carpenter. They want someone whom they can trust to start working alongside and deliver the result they want because after all, they are ones who is paying you while you're learning the trade.

Just How Much Can You Expect To Earn During A Carpentry Apprenticeship?

Since you're being paid to learn the trade, you should understand that the more you don't know, the lesser your pay will be. Generally speaking, most apprentices are paid based on the progress of their training. For example, during the first period of your training, you may only make 60% or less of the journeyman rate but as you complete your training diligently and further refine your skills, that percentage will rise accordingly and soon you will be making as much as 90% or more.

In short, carpentry apprenticeships is a great way to gain qualifications and work place experience at the same time. Unlike conventional education system where you do not get paid while learning, this form of training will not only give you real life working experience but also help cover some of your living expenses. Because you will be given the chance to work with other skilled carpenters, you will also be able to learn most of the carpentry skills faster than you would have if you were to learn them from a text book. If you manage to get on their good sides, they might even teach you a trick or two that can seriously improve your carpentry skills.