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Are you thinking about becoming a carpenter? It's an incredibly skilled trade with a variety of financial, physical and intellectual rewards. So, we don't blame you if you're wanting to be a part of this exciting and progressive trade. 

To be a carpenter, you'll need a variety of skills to ensure that you can do the job to the best of your ability. In this blog, we'll run through the top carpentry skills you should have to pursue a successful career as a carpenter.

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Are you thinking about becoming a carpenter? It's an incredibly skilled trade with a variety of financial, physical and intellectual rewards. So, we don't blame you if you're wanting to be a part of this exciting and progressive trade. 

To be a carpenter, you'll need a variety of skills to ensure that you can do the job to the best of your ability. In this blog, we'll run through the top carpentry skills you should have to pursue a successful career as a carpenter.

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What is the average salary of a carpenter in the UK 2023 - Carpenter Salary UK

Short answer: The salary of a carpenter depends on which area of the UK you're in, but the average carpenter salary in the UK is £38,122 per year!

If you're looking to get into carpentry, then you're probably also wondering how much you will be paid for your trade. Since the average carpenter salary is dependent on location, we’ve put together this blog to help you get an idea of how much you could earn as a carpenter in your area.

Some of the highest paying locations for carpenters include London (£32,500 per year), the North East (£47,113 per year) and Northern Ireland (£39,690 per year).

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career opions for carpenters - carpentry career options and career paths

Carpentry and joinery are one of the oldest professions within the trade industry, and is revered and respected like no other. Carpenters are always in great demand no matter what type of work they are undertaking, and carpentry encompasses a wide range of skills, environments, and practices. 

However, information regarding what career options are available to carpenters is not always that easy to find. Carpentry is a varied, demanding, and skills-dependent vocation. Carpentry is by no means restricted to making furniture and measuring wood, although these are of course fundamental to the practice. 

The aim of this article is to communicate the rich and varied career opportunities available to those with carpentry qualifications, so that you can make sure you are getting the most out of your career and are exploring all avenues to make your professional life as fulfilling and lucrative as it can be.

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Working as a carpenter

Am I too old to retrain as a carpenter?

This is a question commonly asked by people in their forties who are considering a change of career.

If you're around 40 years of age and wondering whether it's too late for you to become a carpenter, allow us to reassure you that it most certainly is not!

In this blog post, we'll take a look at the options available to you as an adult learner and how you can become a carpenter at 40 with the help of Access Training.

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Are you considering becoming a carpenter? Carpentry is a complex job that requires a lot of skill, but it can make for a very rewarding career. To find out what a carpenter might get up to on an average day, just keep reading…

day in the life of a carpenter

Working as a carpenter is not like holding down a 9-5 office job. As with most trades, carpentry requires you to travel from one location to another, putting your hand to a variety of different tasks and challenges. Here at Access Training, our carpentry courses provide you with the theoretical and practical knowledge you’ll need to be a competent carpenter from day one!

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In this day and age, becoming a carpenter can be simpler and shorter than the more traditional routes, which usually involve long-winded apprenticeships, large classes, and gradual results. But this doesn’t have to be the case…

Private Training Academies are the efficient and effective way forward; the short story is that it gets you qualified, working, and earning, quicker than you could any other way. And here are a few reasons why:

  • They offer shorter, more condensed courses. 
    • This style of intensive training not only makes you learn quicker, but also gives you the same learning opportunities in a more efficient time frame. 
    • By the time an apprentice is one-fifth of their way into their course, you can be onsite and gaining valuable experience and salary.
  • They are more flexible. 
    • Private centres are not like schools or colleges; if you need to, you can fit your training around your professional and personal life. 
    • You can complete significant portions of your course online, and travel to the training centre only when it suits you. 
    • You gain the qualifications at the pace which suits you best, from whichever location is most convenient.
  • They offer high-quality training from industry professionals.
    • The training you receive from private academies is guaranteed to be run by tutors who have worldly experience in the industry. 
    • They have often spent decades in the field, and are used to working with all manner of tradespeople, on all kinds of jobs.
    • To put it simply: you’ll be learning from the best.

The country will always need carpenters, and that’s why Access Training is committed to supplying the next generation of carpenters with the qualifications they need to get on the field, get working, and get earning. If you work well with your hands, can manage well in a team, and enjoy problem-solving – then a carpentry career is for you. 

Access Training offers every qualification necessary for getting started on a promising and successful career. Every type of course we offer covers the bases of carpentry: whether you want a few important, fundamental skills to get you started, or if you want to go all the way up to fitting kitchens and roofs – we have what you need. 

Take a look at our course types below to get an idea of what’s on offer:

  • Essential

    • Offering the essential skills and qualifications necessary to becoming a domestic carpenter; this course is the base layer requirement for getting you out and working in domestic environments.

  • Professional

    • For those serious about going far in a carpentry career, this course builds on the qualifications on offer; for wider career options, greater skill-set, and more work opportunities, choose this course.

  • Premier

    • This course will give you everything you could possibly need from a carpentry career; not only will you be a fully qualified and desirable employee, but you will also have the means to work for yourself, and be your own boss. 

How training works:

With the right mindset, all you need to do is pick the right course for you. Sign up, and our tutors will take care of the rest.

 

Learn your trade. Get qualified. Make it happen.

"Anybody who's lost their job... my advice is don't be afraid. With hard work and the right training... you can do anything that you want."

Jimmy Adkins, Access Training Academies Tutor speaking to Robert Peston from ITV

Today’ Rishi Sunak announced his ‘Wage Top-Up’ scheme, a plan which effectively allows employers to work a third of their hours for almost the same wage; that is, 77% of their salary for one third of their normal working day. Another skilful avoidance of complete redundancy, another catastrophe missed; but ultimately a temporary measure to delay the inevitable. 

And let’s not forget, that this indicates a reduction in payment from the previous 80% salary offered by the furlough scheme. What happens to people already struggling to make ends meet, now met with a 3% reduction? What will happen at the end of another 6 months when industries are on their knees? 

There is a great cause for concern, as Paul Johnson, head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, predicted that 2 million people could lose their jobs by the end of this year. He called Sunak’s new plans ‘significantly less generous than the furlough scheme’; he also makes a crucial point, that only those currently working more than a third of their usual hours will benefit from this updated system – those not working at all will lose their jobs.

But we at Access Training want to reach out and reassure you that all is not lost. We want to point out the ways in which this period is an opportunity to grasp, that now is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Here are 5 tips on how to navigate the new furlough as a worker:



  1. Use gained time to retrain and prepare 

A lack of time and resources are no longer a reason not to invest in a training course. With Sunak’s new scheme announcement, you have the same wage, but two thirds more free time than before. What better way to use that free time than to upskill, retrain, and prepare for the next phase? It’s a no brainer – invest your time wisely.

 

  1. Plan ahead for the worst

If your sector, business, industry of work is likely to be one of those about to crumble, then planning ahead is crucial to avoiding a redundancy further on down the line. Why leave it to chance? Why not join the thousands of chefs, pilots, solicitors, cab drivers, and many other professionals, who are enrolling on a course with us?

 

  1. Keep your options open

Regardless of what line of work you have been, or are currently in, a construction course will cater for you. And with every other sector now under threat from financial ruin and collapse, wouldn’t it be better to have the option to jump ship if it had to come to that? 

 

  1. You have nothing to lose, everything to gain

As you read this, construction courses are reaching peak demand with new students leaving their careers to begin afresh in construction. With the continued uncertainty ahead, this makes perfect sense: a sturdy and dependable industry, guaranteed work and high demand. Upskilling is a win-win situation: you become more employable, you expand on your professional skills, and you gain qualifications which will always benefit you. In these times, it’s best to leave nothing to chance. 

 

  1. Believe in yourself – remain hopeful

As soon as self-belief is lost, then getting yourself back on your feet and moving forward can become impossible. We are here to assure you that Access Training is your way out and up to security and confidence. As Sunak inspiringly noted in his announcement speech:

 

"What was true at the beginning of the crisis remains true now. It’s on all of us, and we must learn to live … without fear.

Live without fear, and take the leap you’ve been meaning to take – because now really is the time." 



Learn your trade. Get qualified. Make it happen.

With the right skills, a strong desire and a little imagination, it can be surprising just what can be achieved when people put their minds (and hands) to work.

This is particularly applicable when it comes to manual labour jobs, like carpentry and joinery. Take the story of Billy Walden from Bentham, Lancaster, for proof of just that.

 

carpentry courses,carpentry training,joinery courses

 

A Cut Above

The Daily Mail recently ran a story about a teenage carpenter who incredibly transformed a shabby canal boat on its last sea legs into a holiday home for his mum and 11-year-old sister.

At 18 years old, Billy already had four years of carpentry training under his tool belt, beginning his education at the tender age of 14. He achieved his Level 1 AIM in just one year and even began his Level 2 in carpentry and joinery at just 15.

Despite his age, Billy was no stranger to renovation projects, having already completed a refurb of a VW camper. However, the camper van project left Billy with a desire for something bigger and better. The canal boat project proved to be just that.

 

Investing in Carpentry Skills

Bought by his mum, Jayne, for just £5k, the boat was a veritable steal due to the fact it didn’t pass all the survey tests. However, that also meant that it was also in need of considerable TLC – a challenge that Billy was more than up for.

Renovation costs accrued to around £2800 and, within just eight weeks, the young carpenter had transformed an uninhabitable budget barge into a unique floating holiday home.

 

Carpentry Courses and Joinery Courses

Billy’s story once again proves that not only can carpentry and joinery courses can be extremely useful, they can also be extremely rewarding from a personal standpoint too.

At Access Training UK, we offer a number of carpentry courses to suit all levels of education, allowing you to achieve carpentry goals, even if you don’t have any experience going in.

We currently offer the following carpentry courses:

 

DIY Carpentry Course

A crash course in household DIY carpentry, this course provides you with the basic understanding of carpentry required to complete a variety of carpentry tasks around the home.

Essential Carpentry Course

A basic introduction to carpentry via a foundation-level course. Ideal for those that want to gain basic carpentry knowledge and progress on to more advanced industry-level trade courses.

Professional Carpentry Course

A professional qualification, this course allows you to potentially pursue a career in carpentry and joinery. Suitable for al skill levels with no prior experience or prior knowledge necessary.

NVQ Level 2 Certification

An accredited certification course that allows experienced carpenters to gain the relevant qualifications to carry out on-site carpentry work.

 

For more information on our carpentry training and joinery courses, call today on 0800 345 7492 or drop us message online using the button below.

Get in Touch

Be a carpenter

Carpentry is one of the oldest occupations there is, dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt and beyond. The Bible, of course, features myriad references to carpentry, from Noah and his ark to Joseph, husband of Mary.

That being said, a lot has changed since Biblical times - it's unlikely that Noah or Joseph had any formal carpentry qualifications. But what qualifications does a modern-day carpenter need in order to succeed?

 

What do I need to become a carpenter?

Carpentry isn't like gas or electrical work - there's no specific certification (or set of certifications) that you're legally required to possess in order to become a carpenter. Strictly speaking, the only thing you need to do in order to enter the trade and work on-site is demonstrating your competence as a carpenter.

There are a number of valid ways to do this, but one of the most popular options is to complete a portfolio of work and earn the NVQ Level 2 Carpentry qualification. Having this carpentry qualification under your belt proves that you can complete carpentry work in a competent and professional fashion, and could even help you procure new work if you're operating as a freelance carpentry contractor. So, gaining carpentry qualifications is advantageous, even if it's not essential.

 

How do I get my carpentry NVQ?

Well, hold on now. Before you can start working towards the NVQ Level 2 certification, you'll need to actually learn carpentry.

Again, you have a number of different options here. Some people choose to do an apprenticeship, working alongside an established carpenter and gradually learning the trade from them. Mind you, it can take a number of years to go from apprentice to fully-fledged carpenter, so if you're looking to start your new career sooner rather than later, you may prefer to enroll in an accredited carpentry training course.

View Our Carpentry Courses >

You can start your carpentry training from the comfort of your own home - we now offer live online training, allowing you to learn fundamental carpentry skills in a virtual classroom setting. Click here to find out more about our e-learning options.

Once you've learned all the skills a carpenter needs to know - and you feel confident that you're proficient enough to start work - then you can begin the NVQ process. This involves:

  • Attending a formal induction session
  • Completing a portfolio of evidence (including photographs of the work you've completed and written testimonies from witnesses)
  • Submitting your finished portfolio for assessment

If you're already a competent carpenter and you think you're ready to earn your NVQ Level 2 Carpentry qualification, click here to find out Access Training can help. Otherwise, use the links below to find out more about our carpentry training packages for learners of all experience levels.

Carpentry Training Packages >   Speak to a Course Advisor >

 

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