Carpenters (NOC 7271)

Education, training & qualifications

Completion of secondary school is usually required. Completion of a four-year apprenticeship program (or a combination of more than four years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses) is required to be eligible for trade certification, although it is not required to work as a carpenter in B.C. For more information, please see the Industry Training Authority website at www.itabc.ca.

The carpenter apprenticeship requires a combination of work experience and class time instruction. The classroom educational training typically takes place over four six-week periods, but part-time and distance education may be available. Apprenticeships can be started in secondary school, through entry-level training at colleges and technical institutes, or by direct entry, where workers find a sponsor employer who is willing to participate in the program.

Interprovincial Red Seal certification, is available to qualified carpenters through the Industry Training Authority. For more detailed information, contact the provincial regulator. A list of provincial regulators can be found at http://www.jtst.gov.bc.ca/labourmobility/docs/AIT_OccupationsRegulators.pdf

Workers with 7,500 hours of documented directly related work experience can challenge the interprovincial Red Seal examination.

Entry-level training programs in carpentry, which generally range from four to 10 months, are also available. These programs are designed to introduce students to the carpentry trade. People completing these programs typically start in entry-level carpentry/construction positions.

Skills

• Numerical Ability
• Object-Oriented
• Spatial Perception
• Motor Coordination
• Manual Dexterity

Education programs in B.C.

For more information about programs offered specifically for this career, visit EducationPlannerBC.

Trades training resources

Visit our trades training page at www.workbc.ca/trades to learn about apprenticeship and trades training in B.C.