Learning programs for Carpenter Apprentice and Carpenters Training.
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Things you should know to apply for a Union Carpenter Apprentice

  * Applicants should be a minimum of 17 years of age.

  * The application and testing period is in the spring of each year.

  * Applicants must take a qualifying test consisting of math related to the Carpentry Trade, including decimals, fractions and geometry.

  * Successful applicants must secure a Contractor to sponsor them as an apprentice for entry into the program.

  * Drug testing is a requirement for entry into the program.

  * All Apprenticeships are four years, except Wharf & Dock Builders which is three years.

  * All Apprenticeships include both on-the-job training and classroom-related training.

  * Apprentice wages and benefits are based on a percentage of the Journeyperson rate.

  * All Apprentices receive a percentage increase every six months.

Carpenters make up the largest single group of skilled workers in the United States. Much of their work is done by shaping, measuring, cutting and installing wooden materials, although many materials like windows, doors and studs are now made of metal. Carpenters are the first workers on the job, starting with the building layout. They can be involved in building frames for structures or putting finishing touches on buildings or new construction, in single-family homes or in highrise skyscrapers. Carpenters are usually the last trade to leave the job site.

There are 800 hours of classroom and shop instruction during the four-year term of Apprenticeship.

Shop Instruction for Carpenters includes: Hand Tools, Portable and Stationary Power Tools and Equipment Safety; Concrete Form Work, Wood and Metal Framing including: Floors, Walls and Roof Systems; Rough Framing including; Setting Door Frames, Door Bucks, Window Frames, Sub-Floors and Stairs; Finish Work including: Drywall, Door Hanging, Installation and Fitting of Trim Members, Plastic Laminate Acoustical Ceilings and Hardware Installation: Building Layout including: Tape Layout, Precision Leveling, Horizontal and Vertical Angles, Curved Alignment, also the use of all types of Levels and Transits including: Theodolites and Laser.

Classroom Instruction includes: Union History, Safety, Methods and Materials, Mathematics Related to the Trade, Blueprint Reading, Estimating, Theory, Surveying, and Computer Training.

Additional Training includes: Burning and Welding with the opportunity for Certification, OSHA 10 and Process Safety Management Certification, Scaffold Certification, Standard First Aid and Cpr Certification, Power-Actuated Tool Certification, and Solid Surface Certification. 

Cabinetmakers, or Millworkers as they are sometimes called, are the skilled men and women who manufacture, assemble and install cabinets, counter tops, commercial store fixtures, convention and show displays, and architectural millwork. They are also responsible for the fabrication of staircases, windows, doors and furniture. The vast majority of these products are composed of wood, but cabinetmakers also utilize plastic, metals, glass, laminates such as Formica® and Nevamar®, and solid surface materials such as Corian®, Gibralter®, and Avonite®. Most of the work is performed in the shop, but job-site installations are sometimes required.

Shop Instruction for Cabinetmakers includes: Hand Tools, Portable and Stationary Power Tools, which includes the following: Grinding Wheels, Belt Sander, Random Orbital Sander, Biscuit Joiner, Router, Table Saw, Radial-Arm Saw, Band Saw, Jointer, Planer, Shaper, Molder, Sanding Machine, Lathe, Tenoner, Mortiser, Drill Press, and Overhead Router. Apprentices learn: how to mill their material from rough lumber to produce a finished wood product; to efficiently cut sheet goods like plywood and flakeboard; to cut and work with laminates and solid surface materials; to make wood moldings; to lay out and machine their jobs and use the proper joinery; to assemble cabinets and counter tops and to apply finish to their products. The school recently purchased a computer numerically controlled (CNC) machine and there is extensive shop, as well as classroom training in the use of this machine.

Classroom Instruction includes: Union History, Safety, Mathematics Related to the Trade, Drawing,Blueprint Reading, Material Take-Off, Estimation, Trade Theory, and Computer Training. The curriculum also includes instruction for the use of more advanced machinery that is being utilized in our industry. This includes the new SCM® CNC machine and it's software applications, Panel Saws, Edgebanders and Drilling Machine. We have recently obtained Giben® panel saw software and we train our apprentices in it's use.

Lathing is an ancient trade that goes back to the days when buildings were constructed of stone and plaster. Today it is a small but vital Trade that has adapted to modern building techniques and methods. Lathers still apply the basic framework for the plaster. Frames were once made from wood strips, called laths, althouth today they are made from wire and metal mesh. In addition to providing the background for plaster walls, lathers can also sculpt unusual shapes and create forms to decorate walls and ceilings

Shop Instruction for Lathers includes:

Construction and Erection of Metal Lath, Nail On and Tie On Materials, Arch Construction, Installation of Channel Iron and Metal Furring, Erection of Columns and Pilasters, Layout, Corner Heads and Plaster Grounds. Lathers also do many of the Carpenters Projects.

Floorlayers install many different types of flooring materials such as carpet, tile, and vinyl sheet flooring. The flooring is applied to hardwood, concrete sub-floors, walls and stairs. Most flooring installations are indoors in new construction or in existing buildings, from single-family homes to high-rise skyscrapers. On occasion, they will work outdoors to install special materials such as Stadium Astro-Turf®. Floorlayers work from prints to create beautiful and sometimes intricate patterns that are both durable and pleasing to the eye.

Shop Instruction for Floorlayers includes: Hand Tools, Portable Power Tools and Equipment Safety; Floor Covering Removal; Installation of Underlayment; Adhesive applications and Techniques; Layout, Fitting and Installing Carpet including Direct Glue Down, Strip and Pad, Double Stick, Enhanced Back; Gitting and Installing Tile including: Square Layout, Diagonal Layout, Features, Borders and Inserts; Fitting and Installing Sheet Goods including: Flay Lay, Flash Cove, Seam Cutting and Welding, Hand Fitting, Direct Scribing, and Pattern Scribing; Fitting and Installing Hardwood including: Block, Plank, Direct Glue Down, Nailing, and Clipping.

Millwrights are the craftsmen who make possible the mass production of automobiles, airplanes, food products and other important needs that drive the economy. At one time, these specialists designed and maintained water and wind mills, which is where the name millwright comes from. Today's millwrigths work from blueprints to install and maintain conveyor and monorail systems, giant electrical turbines, pumps, compressors, and other machinery. They perform factory repair and maintenance including much of the precision work in nuclear power plants.

Shop Instruction for Millwrights includes: Hand Tools, Portable Power Tools and Equipment Safety; Reading and Using Measuring Tools including: Micrometer, Bernier Calipers and Scales; Vernier; Layout Skills; Drilling; Tapping and Reaming Holes; Lathe and Surface Grinder Operations; Precision Leveling; Optical Tooling; Alignment of Rotating Machinery using Dial Indicators and Laser Systems; Bearing Installation and Service; Coupling Installation; Conveyor Installation; Pump and Compressor Maintenance; Monorail Installation; Turbine Maintenance; Welding including: MIG, TIG, and Shielded Metal Arc, Oxy-Acetylene Cutting, and Plasma Arc Cutting.

Wharf and Dock builders is a specialty Trade that involves working with wood, steel, concrete, and plastic on land, in the water, and under the water. This Trade not only designs and builds the sturdy bulkheads, docks, piers and cofferdams installed in the water, but also drives all types of piles in any soil, installs caissons, auger-cast pile and also under pin structures, when needed. Most of their work is heavy-duty and done outside. Dock Builders are experts at rigging, working with cranes, welding, and burning.

 Shop Instruction for Wharf & Dock Builders includes: Hand Tools, Portable and Stationary Power Tools, and Equipment Safety; Form Work; Heading of Piles; Basic and Advanced Timber Work; Concrete; Rigging; Knot Tying; Leveling of Instruments and Shooting Grades; Bridge Construction; Driving of Piles; Burning; Welding; Hand Signals; Installation of Booms; Cable and Leads; and Pile Driving Hammers.

**Some information taken from Carpenter Apprentice School of Philadelphia