Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
Testing whether carpentry suits you
Carpentry means lifting sheets of plywood in the midday sun, working on roofs and scaffolds, and measuring to the millimetre while the rest of the site is shouting. Spending a few days with working carpenters, before you pay for a course, tells you whether you like the work itself and not just the idea of it. It also shows you the difference between site work on roofs and formwork and bench work in a joinery shop.
First tasks
- Write down what draws you to carpentry in a ten-minute note
- Ask two carpenters or joiners you know for a half-hour conversation
- Arrange a day helping on a building site or in a joinery shop
- Make a simple box or step stool with hand tools
- Record your decision and the reason that tipped it
School subjects for a woodworking career
Students choosing CSEC subjects in third or fourth form can set themselves up well for the trade with Industrial Technology and its building and furniture option, Technical Drawing and a solid pass in Mathematics. In the UK the nearest match is GCSE Design and Technology with Maths, and in the US and Canada it is shop class with algebra and geometry.
First tasks
- List your current or planned subjects and mark the ones that help the trade
- Check entry requirements for two construction courses near you
- Talk to the Industrial Technology or woodwork teacher about workshop time
- Agree a plan with a parent or guardian for any weak Mathematics grade
Site carpentry, bench joinery or formwork
The trade splits into jobs that feel nothing alike: site carpenters frame roofs, floors and partitions, formwork carpenters build the moulds that concrete is poured into, and joiners make doors, windows, stairs and cabinets at a bench. In much of the Caribbean, where houses are mostly concrete block, formwork and roofing carry most of the paid work, while in the UK and Canada timber frame and fit-out are larger.
First tasks
- Count carpentry job adverts by type in your area this month
- Ask a contractor which carpentry work they struggle to fill
- Visit a joinery shop or furniture maker for an hour
- Write your first and second preference with one reason each
