Woodworking & Fine Furniture - St. Lawrence CollegeWoodworking Education in CanadaCarpentry and Woodworking Programs -- Community College Programs
PROGRAM WEBSITE
Woodworking & Fine Furniture - St. Lawrence College St. Lawrence College's Woodworking and Fine Furniture certificate program, as of February 2007, has yet to receive formal approval to commence. However, the Program is expected to incorporate 'a continuous progression of multi-skill development' with 'the separate disciplines and techniques required to successfully complete each course' being 'integrated into individual projects of progressive skill levels.' Moreover, 'students will gain the theory and practical techniques necessary to construct cabinets and fine furniture using standard production equipment and hand tools.' The Program is scheduled to be delivered at Kingston and to consist of 6 levels, each of which will be 45 hours in duration. Career-wise, woodworkers are most often employed indoors in various aspects of the construction, wood, and wood products manufacturing industries. Employers of woodworkers may include, for example, by companies, contractors, custom or repair shops, hardware stores, interior designers, lumber yards, manufacturers, and/or private individuals. Some woodworkers may pursue self employment options. Among the numerous areas in which woodworkers may work include design operations, designing, installing, and/or manufacturing wooden cabinets, furniture, and various fixtures, interior finishing and design, repair, restoration, renovation, and/or sales. Woodworkers can work up to 40 hours per week or more, depending upon demand for their services and products, and it is not unusual for them to labour in a shop environment in which they are exposed to high levels of noise, various dust particles, and chemicals, especially from paint. Individuals who aspire to advance their careers in cabinetmaking may be interested in pursuing further educational opportunities to refine and enhance their abilities, particularly via an apprenticeship. The latter 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. Graduates of the Woodworking and Fine Furniture may qualify for advanced credits towards an apprenticeship. The advantage of completing an apprenticeship 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. Persons who earn journeyperson status may, after obtaining several years of experience beyond an apprenticeship, become educators, supervisors, and/or trainers of their respective trades.
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