How to Become a Carpenter in Australia
Few careers are more rewarding than carpentry. You get to work with your hands, spend time outdoors and create structures that make a real impact on society. In Australia, the demand for carpenters is always growing. With the right qualifications and experience, you can find work across a range of exciting fields. Let’s look at how to become a carpenter in Australia, explore our building courses online, and discover the opportunities you’ll have along the way.
What are the types of carpentry?
Just like the building and construction industry, carpentry is a diverse field. Before you become a carpenter in Australia, it’s important to think about the work you’re interested in doing and the carpentry courses you might want to enrol in.
To break it down, here are some common types of carpenters in Australia:
- Joiner carpenter
- Framework carpenter
- Formwork carpenter
- Green carpenter
Figuring out what type of carpentry you’re interested in will help you choose the right type of carpentry course and apprenticeship. However, you can always change it up and gain experience in other branches.
What do carpentry apprentices do?
While there aren’t any educational prerequisites for doing an apprenticeship, there are a few qualities that will help you succeed with tasks you will need to do:
- Be good with your hands
- Have good attention to detail
- Have decent mathematical skills
- Great communication skills
- The ability to work with others
- Be in reasonably good shape
How to start becoming a carpenter
To become a carpenter in Australia, you’ll need to do an apprenticeship. Put simply, an apprenticeship combines on-the-job training with structured learning from a registered provider such as Builders Academy Australia.
For example, you’ll need to undertake a carpentry course such as the CPC30220 Certificate III in Carpentry. This certificate is the starting point for your career, giving you the skills and knowledge you need to carry out everyday tasks and process.
How long is a carpentry apprenticeship?
Most apprenticeships last around four years. During this time you’ll do everything from creating tables, chairs and cabinets, to making repairs, inspecting damaged structures, reading blueprints and more. You’ll also get an idea of how businesses are run and what’s expected.
Once you’ve finished your apprenticeship, you can become a qualified carpenter. Where you go from here is totally up to you. You might continue working for your employer, taking on bigger and more complex jobs. Or, you might go at it alone and start your own business.
To really open things up, many tradies decide to continue their education, looking into higher-level building and construction courses.
Find out how much more you could be earning as a qualified carpenter through BAA.
What are alternative careers for qualified carpenters?
Carpentry lays the foundations for the rest of your career. And if you’re driven to take that extra step, you’ll find it easy to start building on your skills and experience. We offer a range of carpentry courses that have clear career pathways.
As a graduate of the CPC30220 Certificate III in Carpentry, you’ll be eligible to enrol in our CPC40120 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building). With a qualification like this under your belt, you’ll have the skills and knowledge required to become a licensed builder, kickstart your own business, or work towards getting employed in more supervisory roles.
From here, you can move into our CPC50220 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building). This qualification will help pursue a career as a project supervisor, building manager, site supervisor, estimator, project manager or foreperson.
Like in most industries, the more experience you have, the higher your salary will be. Qualified carpenters are well paid in Australia – and working as an apprentice means you’ll be earning and learning the whole time.
Tips for becoming a carpenter
If you want to become a carpenter in Australia, it helps to have solid connections in the industry. At Builders Academy Australia, we’re here to provide the highest level of vocational education and training. Plus, we’ve developed connections with a great community of industry partners.
Our curriculum and training services fully prepare students for a constantly evolving workforce. Through our building and construction courses, you’ll learn from the brightest minds in the industry and have access to our extensive employer networks. You can even take building courses online.
The bottom line? To get your carpentry career underway, it pays to start on the right foot – and that’s exactly what we can offer.
How to get started in the building and construction industry
To become a carpenter in Australia is a fantastic opportunity. The work is rewarding, the job sites are varied and you’ll have many opportunities to find your niche and carve out a solid career.
If you want to know more about how to become a carpenter, or what kind of carpentry courses you can study – just get in touch and we’ll walk you through the details.
We know you might be a busy tradie by day, which is why we offer building courses online too. To know more about our range of building and construction courses, jump onto our website.
This article has been updated and republished on 26 April 2022.
Find out how much more you could be earning as a qualified carpenter through BAA.
This article has been updated and republished on 12th May 2023.