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Carpentry and joinery

Make things with your hands, on the sites changing your borough.

Apprentice rates to start, rising with each qualification.

The route

How people get in and grow

One of the most direct routes onto a construction site. Start with a site-ready card and an apprenticeship, build toward a recognised NVQ.

  1. 1

    Get site-ready

    A CSCS card and basic site safety let you set foot on a real site.

    Unlocks: CSCS card, site safety awareness

  2. 2

    Earn while you learn

    A carpentry apprenticeship pays you to train on real jobs.

    Unlocks: Carpentry and joinery apprenticeship

  3. 3

    Qualify

    An NVQ Level 2 then Level 3 marks you out as a skilled tradesperson.

    Unlocks: NVQ Level 2, then Level 3 Carpentry

Where this goes

Skilled trades and construction in Oxford runs from Level 2 (about GCSEs at grade 4 to 9) up to Level 4 (about an HNC). These are the levels people move through, and what is open right now at each one.

  1. Level 2about the same as GCSEs at grade 4 to 9

    2 openings in Oxford2 different apprenticeships
    • Carpentry and joinery (level 2)
    • Groundworker (level 2)
    See the 2 open at Level 2
  2. Level 3about the same as A levels

    2 openings in Oxford2 different apprenticeships
    • Fire emergency and security systems technician (level 3)
    • Supply chain practitioner (fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)) (level 3)
    See the 2 open at Level 3
  3. Level 4about the same as an HNC

    1 opening in Oxford1 apprenticeship
    • Construction site supervisor (level 4)
    See the one open at Level 4

Level 6 exist in this work elsewhere in the country but nothing is open in Oxford today. Worth widening your search, or asking a local college what they run.

Levels and apprenticeship standards from the Department for Education Find an apprenticeship service, counted from vacancies open today. Wages are the middle of what employers actually advertised, not a promise about any one job, and they do not always rise with the level: pay depends on the employer and the year as much as the qualification. These are the levels within this line of work, not a guarantee that one apprenticeship leads to the next.

Take the first step

Register and we will match you to local routes into carpentry and joinery and tell you exactly which step you are ready for. Want to think it through first? Ask RORI in the chat at the bottom-right.