Program Spotlight: Carpentry and Woodworking

One of construction’s most well-known or iconic roles, carpentry is the skilled trade known for working with timber to construct and maintain buildings, furniture and other structures.

Carpenters form the largest single group of skilled workers in Canada and are professional craftspeople—to become a Red Seal carpenter,
you must complete four levels with Apprenticeship Manitoba.

To help you get started on your carpentry career, Assiniboine offers a nine-month Carpentry and Woodworking certificate in Brandon (at our North Hill campus) and a six-month Applied Building Construction certificate in Dauphin (at our Parkland campus). Both programs are considered pre-employment, meaning that if you register as an apprentice within two years of completing the program, you may be granted your Level 1 Carpenter apprenticeship.

In these programs, you’ll start with an introduction to basic tools and then move on to reading blueprints, building stairs and framing walls. You’ll learn to create what’s in your mind’s eye, an incredibly satisfying process if you’re the type of person who feels a sense of pride when you make something with your own two hands.

You’ll also learn the diversity of the trade. You may choose to focus on residential, essentially constructing homes and apartment buildings, including framing, stairs, decks and roofs. You may be interested in the commercial arm of the trade, building shopping centres, hotels and offices. An industrial focus is also an option, creating the scaffolding and other essentials for infrastructure, roads and bridges. You may also prefer joinery, working in a woodshop crafting products like cabinets, windows and doors, or perhaps the art of woodworking itself, creating, fixing and maintaining products like furniture or antiques.

Carpentry is a physically demanding trade. You will carry heavy materials, handle tools all day and be on your feet most of the time. But it’s also mentally engaging. Geometry rules in this profession, and general mathematics and spatial awareness are required. It’s an independent trade where you may work alone for long stretches of time, but it’s also creative and your sense of purpose grows as you view your creations over and over. You’ll help others realize their vision and see ideas grow into fruition.

When you enter the trade of carpentry, you’re starting a career where every day is different than the one before. Apprenticing gives you opportunities to earn while you learn, meaning you can move up the ladder (pun intended) without a heavy student debt load. Graduates have a number of career opportunities. As the workforce ages and more skilled carpenters enter retirement, carpenters who are able to prove their skill and value will earn opportunities to advance in this merit-based field.

Assiniboine’s programs will teach you how to make things that will last a lifetime. Start your career in carpentry this September. Learn more at assiniboine.net/carpentry or assiniboine.net/appliedbuilding or consider attending a free, online information session. Go to assiniboine.net/infosession to register and to see upcoming dates and times.