Introduction to Carpentry
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We don’t just build structures,
we build communities.
From carpentry to millwrighting, floor covering and pile driving, this trade spans diverse with their own skills and opportunities.
Whether you’re interested in building structures, working with precision systems, or focusing on finishing details, this is a career with incredible possibility.
What is a Carpenter?
Carpenters build or renovate everything from homes, schools, churches and hospitals to malls, airports, skyscrapers and highways.
To be a professional carpenter is to be part of the oldest and most respected trades in the world.
Carpenters are responsible for bringing an architect’s blueprints to life by working with wood, fiberglass, metal, vinyl, plastic and other materials to create the interior and exterior of structures. They know their way around a toolbox, power tools, and machinery.
Training Required
What is a Floor Coverer?
Floor coverers work in everything from shopping malls, banks, office buildings and courtrooms, to schools, hospitals, hotels, and theaters.
They are responsible for installing all types of flooring materials including carpet, laminates and vinyl, wood, and sports surfaces. Work is often done based on specifications of architects and interior designers.
Floor layers are good at estimating materials and understanding pattern layouts. They also know the safe and proper use of many types of tools, adhesives, and fastening systems.
If you like working with tools, if you like seeing your work produce immediate results, and if you have a good work ethic, you have the fundamental tools to build the career of a lifetime.
Training Required
What is a Millwright?
Millwrights are an elite group of construction workers who work primarily in metal and with machinery and equipment requiring precision. Every industry requires millwrights, such as energy, pharmaceutical, refinery, automotive, nuclear, manufacturing, transportation, postal service, and food processing.
They install, maintain, diagnose and repair industrial machines that usually cost millions of dollars. Work is done on compressors, pumps, conveyors, monorails, extruders, turbines and mining equipment using hand and power tools, including welding equipment.
Millwrights may adjust a machine’s calibration just the width of a human hair and increase that machine’s productivity by 20 percent! They know their way around a toolbox, power tools, and machinery. They also know that working safely is the top priority all day, every day.
Training Required
Take the next step in your career.
Bring your experience to the union or start fresh with our apprenticeship and build your skills from the ground up.