Women's Carpentry - Carlton Trail Regional College - Watrous CampusCarpentry Education in CanadaCarpentry and Woodworking Programs -- Community College Programs
PROGRAM WEBSITE
Women's Carpentry - Carlton Trail Regional College - Watrous Campus Carlton Trail Regional College's Women's Carpentry program, delivered at the Watrous Campus, is designed to expose women to the basic skills and knowledge of carpentry. The Program, which has an intake minimum of 6 students to a maximum of 8, is not so much intended as career enhancing or enabling as much as it is a short introduction to carpentry. Students will typically engage in small- or medium-sized projects like a deacon's bench, folding chair, stand, or a project of the student's choosing. However, it is possible for graduates to take an interest in carpentry and pursue further training, perhaps even an apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a method of learning a trade through a combination of periods of in-class, technical/theoretical education and periods of paid, on-the-job training. During the latter portions of an apprenticeship, the student (apprentice) will work, in an indentured capacity, under the direction of a certified, journeyperson member of the trade one is learning. A journeyperson is an individual who has earned the standards of practice of his/her trade, typically via the completion of an apprenticeship. The advantage of completing an apprenticeship, and thus attaining journeyperson status, is not only that one acquires in-depth knowledge and skills in a trade but also that, within the latter, one's career opportunities and salary potential are normally increased. Furthermore, once an individual has obtained journeyperson status, he/she may be eligible to have his/her certification as such endorsed by the Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program (Red Seal). The latter enables the journeyperson to practice his/her trade throughout Canada, provided the trade is designated in that locale, without undergoing further examinations. Journeypersons, through years of experience, can become supervisors, trainers, and/or educators of their respective trades. Professional carpenters are most often employed in the construction industry working on various commercial/industrial, maintenance, and/or residential projects. Common employers include construction companies, furniture and cabinet manufacturers, general contractors, and residential and ICI sectors. Some carpenters may prefer to become self-employed and/or establish their own companies. Carpenters who earn journeyperson status may, after obtaining several years of experience beyond an apprenticeship, become educators, supervisors, and/or trainers of their trade. The precise work a carpenter performs on any given project is determined by the specific requirements of that project. Some carpenters, though, specialize in one or a limited number of tasks demanded of their craft. For example, some carpenters may focus on basements, exterior and/or interior finishing, flooring, form and/or frame construction, or stair construction, among others. However, to succeed at any given job, a carpenter will usually need to be able to develop and/or read blueprints, envision finished projects, select, measure, cut, and shape materials, install finished units, and check completed forms and structures to ensure that everything is properly installed, shaped, etc. Carpenters will also need to be proficient in trade-relevant mathematics, particularly in geometry and trigonometry, and be able to estimate project costs and make calculations, often mentally, quickly and accurately. Moreover, carpenters will generally need knowledge of building regulations, building and framing procedures, and properties of a multitude of materials. Physically, carpenters will usually have to be able to balance on scaffolds, crouch, kneel, and stand for prolonged periods of time, have manual dexterity and mental nimbleness, and lift in excess of 25 kilograms. The working conditions a carpenter faces varies from job to job, and he/she may work indoors and/or outdoors. Usually, carpenters working mostly indoors are employed year-round, 40 hours per week while those employed primarily outdoors often work overtime during peak construction times and face periods of unemployment, especially during certain seasons like Winter. Some carpentry jobs will present risks for personal injuries, particularly from things like falling or flying objects, power equipment, sharp tools and materials, and slippery surfaces, among others.
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