What's involved

Timber is an essential part of just about every structure and it's the carpenter and joiner's job to prepare it and put it into place. It's a skilled job that uses special tools and often involves many different kinds of wood.

Carpenters and joiners make and install the wooden fixtures and fittings found in household and commercial construction projects. These include floorboards, kitchen and bathroom units, window frames, doors, roof trusses and wall partitions.

Skills required

If you enjoy being practical, have good coordination skills and enjoy being part of a team, then becoming a carpenter or joiner could be ideal for you. Accuracy is the key in bench joinery so you will need to be careful and methodical.

You'll need to be good at maths as you'll be calculating angles and measurements and be able to follow technical drawings and plans closely. You'll also have to be fit to work with all the timber and be able to work as part of a team.

Qualifications required

There are no formal requirements although it would help to have GCSE's in English/Welsh and Maths at A*-C (Applications from students with the Foundation/Intermediate Welsh Baccalaureate are also welcomed).

Salary ranges

(This is a guide to the average salary a fully qualified and experienced person might expect to get.)

£17,000 - £28,000

Progression routes

Bench Joinery apprentices will be able to progress to:

• Apprenticeship (Level 3) in Bench Carpentry

After gaining work experience in your chosen area there are also opportunities to progress into furniture production, occupational work supervision, management or technical support areas.