How to Become a Carpenter in DelawareShould I become a carpenter? This is the very basic question that might come to your mind if you want to pursue this career.

If you love manual work and have a passion for this occupation, then I think you should become a carpenter. And Delaware has a lot to offer in terms of employment and a good living wage.

Do you know what I like about getting into this profession? You don’t need a degree, although I am not saying you should not have one. But what I want to emphasize is that you just need to take a short program, then you can train to be a carpenter.

There are a lot of specialties you can take as well – a trim carpenter, a cabinet maker, a framing specialist, a roofer, or a jointer, the list goes and on and on.

If you can become skilled in several of those specialties, you can have reliable employment.

 

 

You can even establish your own contracting firm if you gain much-needed skills and experience, well that will take some time of course – but that opportunity is there for you to grab.

Now if you are just new and you want to continue pursuing this interest of becoming a carpenter in Delaware, we’ve made this article for you.

We’ve listed down below the steps you need to take and school where you can enroll and the minimum requirement so that you won’t have a hard time taking the first steps.

So without further delay, please read on…

Ways You Can Do to Take the Training and Become a Carpenter?

  1. Enroll in a trade school for a carpentry program. If you are a hobbyist and want to explore carpentry, or if you want to later land a carpentry job and earn a living, enrolling in a trade school will help you learn the basics and earn you good hands-on experience through workshops. So, check if your community college or trade school in your area offers a good carpentry program with lots of hands-on learning. If you’re looking for a school, please see below.

  2. Become an apprentice of a journeyman carpenter. Enrolling in trade schools is not the only way to learn carpentry since you can learn all the necessary skills and discipline from a professional carpenter. Working with professional carpenters, observing how they work, and learning carpentry techniques will surely hone your own skills. Aside from learning carpentry from the practitioners in the field, you will also be exposed to the other ins and outs of the carpentry business which could include negotiations, costing, planning, and up to the implementation. Needless to say, working alongside an experienced journeyman will enable you to acquire practical skills and hands-on techniques that are not usually taught in carpentry schools. If you want to apply for an apprenticeship program, contact the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, see below for their information.

Remember, learning enough skills does not happen overnight. Graduating from a trade school would not necessarily land you a high-paying carpentry job, and a carpentry apprenticeship is also not an assurance either. It takes effort, hard work and lots of time before you can produce high-quality results. Hence, learning the right carpentry skills and hands-on techniques could take more than two years.

 

 

Carpentry Training Schools in Delaware

  • Adult Education Division - New Castle County Vo-Tech School District
    1703 School Ln, Wilmington, DE 19808
    (302) 683-3642

  • Delaware Skills Center
    for an appointment, first call (302) 654-5392
    located at 500 Ships Landing Way in the Twin Spans Business Park

  • Sussex Technical School District
    17099 County Seat Hwy, Georgetown, DE 19947
    302-856-0961, 302-856-1760

  • New Castle County Vocational Technical School District
    1417 Newport Road, Wilmington, DE 19804
    (302) 995-8171

  • Delaware Technical Community College
    Dover (302) 857-1000
    Georgetown (302) 259-6000
    Stanton (302) 454-3900
    Wilmington (302) 571-5300

If you want to apply for the carpentry apprenticeship program, here’s where you can apply:

  • United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
    Carpenters JAC of Philadelphia & Vicinity
    21420 Vaughn Rd, Georgetown, DE, 19947, US
    Phone: (215) 824-2300, Fax: (215) 824-2313
    Carpenters JAC of Philadelphia & Vicinity - New Castle
    620 Wilmington Rd., New Castle, DE, 19720, US
    Phone: (215) 824-2300,
    Fax: (215) 824-2313

 

 

Things to Take Note Of When Choosing a Carpentry School

To check if the carpentry school is not good or not, there are other ways as well.

First, you can visit the campus to check the facilities, especially the workshop areas where you will mostly spend your time. Checking the facilities will help you properly assess if the school is well-equipped to teach carpentry. Deteriorating classrooms, not properly maintained carpentry machinery, and broken stuff are red flags that the school should not be an option. Needless to say, the tools, machinery, and carpentry equipment should be enough and well-maintained for the safety of the students.

Second, talk to the students about what they know or hear about the carpentry program in the school. Fellow students would be a good source to know the nitty-gritty of carpentry schools. Remember that online advertisements and marketing about the school’s program only highlight all the things that are good. Hence, talking to fellow students would give you a good insight.

Third, check if the school offers job placement assistance. A good carpentry school should be confident in the skills of its graduates. Hence, offering their graduates assistance through career placements, or helping them land carpentry jobs will help build your confidence that the school really takes care of its graduates.

Well, checking how the facilities are like class size, the reputation of both the carpentry school and the instructors, and the support that the school offers through financial loans and scholarships are not enough, you can also check the curriculum and the school fees.

What are the Basic Requirements You Need to Take the Training

  • If you want to take the training and be a carpenter, you need to be at least 18 years old.
  • You must submit/present a high school diploma or GED certificate as its equivalent
  • You need to be in good physical and health condition since the training and the nature of work is demanding.
  • You may be subjected to a background check and substance abuse screening, be sure to pass these tests.
  • You must have manual dexterity, and good eye and hand coordination.
  • Some recommended skills to have are Math, critical thinking, drawing, and blueprint interpretation, and you need to be also detail-oriented.

 

 

Do You Need Certification or any License to Be Able to Work as Carpenter in This State?

In order to have an advantage and be marketable in today’s competitive industry, not only do you need to have professional training but some certification as well, although these are not required they can certainly give you an edge to get employed and be offered better pay. Here is the certification you can earn:

  • Now that the construction and building industry is changing, the most and recent popular is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or simply LEED) certification, for more information, see this page. Just like any other trade, in order to obtain this, you have to pass the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Green Associate Exam. And In order to prepare for the exam, it is recommended to have the preparatory course by taking a separate class dedicated to this. You may contact one of the carpenter schools mentioned above if they provide such a course.

  • If your plan is to establish a career in the construction industry, having an NCCER certification is the one you need. Again, to earn this credential, you need to pass the theoretical exam and practical test. Preparation is the key in order to boost your chance of succeeding. Contact one of the schools above if they provide the program in NCCER.

We would like to remind you that certification is optional while a license is mandatory. Currently, Delaware doesn’t require aspiring carpenters to be licensed but if you want to put up a firm and be a contractor, then the state will require you to have a contractor license.

 

 

How Much You Would Get Working as a Carpenter in Delaware

Now that you know how to become a carpenter and the schools where you can take the training, you might wonder, how much you would make as a carpenter in this state.

According to the recent July 23, 2023 survey of Salary.Com, if you will work in Delaware as a carpenter, you can make as much as $63,056 on average per year and depending on the skill level and experience you have you can make a salary as much as $54,491 and $73,014. In the neighboring state of Maryland, the salary is almost the same.

As you go along and you earn professional experience and education, you may have the opportunity to handle more mature roles that dictate a higher salary of course. You could be a general foreman or a construction supervisor.

There will always be a significant demand for the carpenter trade this is due to the boom of the construction industry, continuous population growth, and there are not many people going into this job.

 

 

To Make a Conclusion

Are you someone who is thinking of changing career path or a young buck who is doing a study where to delve into after finishing high school? I know what you’re thinking – becoming a carpenter. There are never-ending benefits to doing this work.

Delaware is a good state to work as a carpenter not only in terms of wage but employment opportunities as well.

Act and start. The ball is in your hand now. Take the first step. We always wish you good luck!

Contacting the Authorities

  • Delaware Department of Labor
    4425 North Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19802
    University Office Plaza, 252 Chapman Road, 2nd Floor, Newark, DE 19702
    Division of Employment & Training - (302) 761-8085

  • Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
    Wilmington Area Office
    U.S. Department of Labor-OSHA
    800 King Street Suite 302, Wilmington, DE 19801-3319
    (302) 573-6518, (302) 573-6532

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