Also known as
- Apprentice Carpenter
- Finish Carpenter
- Journeyperson Carpenter
- Maintenance Carpenter
- Renovation Carpenter
- Rough Carpenter
Your duties | Work conditions | Essential Skills | Apprenticeship | Certification | Where to study | Salary ranges | Building your career | Job prospects
Do you like working with wood or steel? Can you be precise and accurate in your work? Are you creative? Do you have an eye for detail? Are you good with your hands? Do you have strong math skills? Then Carpenter could be the career for you!
What the work is like
Carpenters form the largest single group of skilled workers in Canada. They build, install, maintain and repair structures made of wood, wood substitutes and other materials.
Construction companies, carpentry contractors and maintenance departments employ carpenters, or they may be self-employed.
Carpenters work mostly in the New Home Building and Renovation, Heavy Industrial, and Institutional and Commercial construction sectors. To learn more about the construction sectors, check out Inside the industry.
Your duties
As a Carpenter, your duties may include the following:
- building foundations, installing floor beams, laying sub-flooring and installing walls and roofing systems
- fitting and installing trim, doors, stairs, moulding and hardware
- measuring, cutting and joining materials made of wood or wood substitutes
- repairing and renovating wooden structures
- preparing cost estimates for clients
- reading and interpreting blueprints, drawings and sketches
Work conditions
Working conditions for carpenters vary from one job to another. Some carpenters work indoors and work a standard 40-hour week (8 hours a day, 5 days a week). Other carpenters work mostly outdoors and may work varied hours depending on the demands of the project.
As with many careers in construction, there are peak periods that will require you to work overtime. The number of additional hours you work each week depends on the construction sector and region you work in, and will vary from one job to the next.
Carpenters may work alone, in teams, or with helpers. The job can be physically demanding. You will often have to lift heavy materials and work with sharp tools. The work is also mentally challenging – you may have to make quick mental calculations.
As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Carpenters are trained to work safely and take special precautions to protect themselves from injury.
Essential Skills
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified nine Essential Skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace. These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and apply to most construction careers. Best of all, you can learn and improve on these skills in school, on the job and during your everyday life.
The most important Essential Skills for carpenters are the following:
- Document Use – reading and interpreting documents to extract information
- Numeracy – working with numbers to perform calculations
- Problem Solving – coming up with solutions to challenges
Click here to see how these skills are applied on the job. You can also click here to learn more about Essential Skills.
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is one way of starting out in the construction industry. It involves both classroom studies and on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified Carpenter, called a journeyperson.
As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour while working on the job site. Wages start at about 60% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate and increase during your apprenticeship until you reach the full rate.
Entering an apprenticeship program
Requirements for carpenter apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. You are usually required to complete secondary school. You may find it helpful to enrol in math, shop, industrial arts and mechanical drawing courses in high school.
Some provinces and territories offer secondary school apprenticeship programs that allow high school students to work towards a career as a carpenter.
For more information, check out the Apprenticeship section.
Program length
Carpenter apprenticeship programs vary across Canada, but generally involve four 12-month periods, including at least 5,440 hours of on-the-job training and four eight-week blocks of technical training.
Related work experience or completion of a carpenter program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.
Certification
Certification is required in Quebec. It is available but voluntary in all other provinces and territories. Even where certification is voluntary, it is still recommended. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.
To be certified as a Carpenter, you usually need to complete a four-year apprenticeship program. Once you successfully complete the required on-the-job training, technical training and exams, you are awarded a journeyperson certificate.
You may be eligible for certification if you have more than four years of on-the-job experience and some high school, college or industry courses in carpentry.
Once certified as a Carpenter, you may attempt the Interprovincial Exam to qualify for the Interprovincial Standards’ Red Seal. With a Red Seal, you can work as a Carpenter anywhere in Canada.
To keep your skills current, you have to keep up with new technological developments by reading and talking with other carpenters.
Where to study in Canada
In addition to the Canadian schools listed below, many employer and labour organizations offer training. For more information, check out Related links.
Specialty programs
In addition to the schools listed above, Aboriginal Canadians, new Canadians and women can enrol in one of several specialty programs.
For Aboriginal Canadians, Northern College offers a Native Residential Construction Worker Apprenticeship Program and Red River College offers an introductory program called ACCESS.
For new Canadians with experience as carpenters, NorQuest College offers a program called Transitions to Technical and Trades Careers.
For women, Conestoga College offers a pre-apprenticeship carpentry program, and Lambton College, Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology and Red River College offer integrated programs.
Salary ranges
Carpenter hourly wages vary depending on the contract, the company, collective agreements, and local and national economic conditions. Typical hourly wage ranges for carpenters (based on national or regional averages) are as follows:
Junior apprentices
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$11-$16 |
Based on national averages, junior apprentices can earn annual salaries ranging from $23,000 to $33,000 per year, not including overtime.
Journeypersons
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$16-$25 |
Based on national averages, journeypersons can earn annual salaries ranging from $33,000 to $52,000 per year, not including overtime.
Highly experienced journeypersons
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$27-$31 |
Based on national averages, highly experienced journeypersons can earn annual salaries ranging from $56,000 to $64,000 per year, not including overtime.
Construction work can involve overtime, so your total annual salary will vary depending on the number of overtime hours you work.
In addition to the hourly rate, many construction workers receive statutory holiday and vacation pay. Depending on the contract, you may also receive benefits such as group insurance for health, dental, and vision care, as well as retirement packages and training benefits up to 30% of your hourly rate. If you are self-employed, it is up to you to arrange your own benefits.
Building your career
With experience and additional training, you can move into supervisory positions, such as foreman or construction superintendent. You can also become self-employed and work as a contractor or subcontractor.
As with most careers in the construction industry, your skills are portable. If you want to move, you can take your skills with you.
Job prospects
Construction careers across Canada are booming! To learn about the forecast for carpenters, check out Job prospects. There you’ll find information on their expected demand by province for the next nine years.
The Construction Sector Council accepts no responsibility or liability connected with the use or reproduction of the information contained on this website. It is provided “as is” and is intended for informational use only without warranty, express or implied.
