Name: Ryan
Age: 19
Trade: Third Year Apprentice studying Carpentry
What is your current occupation and what is the qualification you’re doing?
I’m working towards a cert 3 in carpentry at the moment, and I’m a second year. But I’m a commercial carpenter so we don’t do anything domestic. Its anything from big tech buildings, so anything to do with schools and airports. Commercial construction is more steel based, so it’s not really timber. Everything is prefabricated, like wall frames, ceilings or roofing all comes in and is erected on site.
In some cases, we do timber-based carpentry but the majority of work is steel based and commercial.
How did you start in this occupation? How was your job hunting?
I’ll admit that I found it pretty hard, I sent out over 100 applicants on Seek. But I really wanted to get into the industry because there’s so much demand. So many people come out of school wanting to be a carpenter but has to choose something else because there’s so much competition.
I actually started off as an electrician and it didn’t work out so I went into carpentry and I’ve loved it ever since.
What are your everyday duties?
Anything from starting on site, bringing all the tools out, and conducting pre start safety checks. Safety wise there’s a lot that has to be taken into consideration. And from there make sure everything is safe, and carry out whatever tasks I have to do.
What are your goals for after you’ve finished?
It depends what the economy is like when I’m finished. By the end of it hopefully I will have learnt enough to start my own business and go off on my own and become successful. But until I’ve finish, I’ll just take it as it comes. At the moment I’m still learning and I’m happy with were I’m at.
If you are interested in starting an apprenticeship, we gathered more information for ya!
- FairWorkGovAu – Nuts and Bolts of an Apprenticeship
- MEGT – How does it all work?
- Australian Apprenticeships – I want to be an apprentice
- MyFuture – Apprenticeships offer a world of opportunities
