Carpenters play a massive role in any construction process. Thanks to their array of skills, residential buildings, nonresidential buildings, and even crucial amenities and infrastructures such as bridges and highways can receive customized structures and frameworks that make their existence possible.
How to Become a Carpenter in California
But as insinuated above, becoming a carpenter requires much knowledge and skills. While some choose to acquire their carpentry training on the job, others prefer to attend carpentry schools offering formal education.
If you’d like to explore the latter, below is a list of some of the best schools for carpentry in Los Angeles, California.
Los Angeles Trade Technical College
- Duration - 4 Semesters
- Total Units - 48
The Los Angeles Trade Technical College helps you acquire the skills you’d need to enjoy a successful career in carpentry. It does this through its Carpentry Associate in Science Degree and Carpentry Construction Technology Associate in Arts Degree.
It also has a Certificate of Achievement program.
The AS and certificate options are perfect for those who have yet to gain experience and are looking for entry-level positions. The AA option is more suited for adults with fundamental skills but looking to expand on it.
Curriculum Topics & Courses
The Los Angeles Trade Technical College instructors aim to help students acquire skills such as material arrangement according to building codes, blueprint interpretation, structural repairs, hand and powered tools, and material joining with nails, screws, and staples.
Courses include Hands and Power Tool Application, Basic Blueprint Reading, Basic Home Constitution, Measurements for Woodworking, Carpentry Calculations, Residential Exterior Finish, and Advanced Residential Estimating.
Requirements
To apply, interested applicants must submit a completed LATC application and use their HS transcripts as a reference to complete the self-placement portion of their applications.
Applicants must also complete an online orientation, develop an education plan supervised by a school counselor, and apply for financial aid.
The program costs $1,830 for resident students.
Southwest Mountain States Carpenters Training Fund
- Duration - 4 Semesters
- 160 hours of classroom instruction per year
The Southwest Mountain States Carpenters Training Fund was established in 1958 to provide a high level of training to those who would like to explore various areas of carpentry. The organization itself - the Southwest Mountain States Carpenters - consists of more than 50,000 men and women.
Completing the SWMSCTF training program opens the door to numerous opportunities, including attractive salaries, affordable healthcare, and many more.
The program boasts several training centers all over the country. California students can opt for their center in South LA.
While the program is free, students are expected to have their hand tools and have the necessary textbooks ready.
Curriculum Topics & Courses
Southwest Mountain States Carpenters Training Fund instructors help students acquire critical carpentry skills such as commercial framing, frame scaffolding, acoustic soffits, automatic finishing, and hand finishing.
Courses include advanced lathing, advanced acoustic ceiling installation, roof framing, air, moisture, and thermal barriers.
Requirements
To complete the program, students must complete a classroom portion and an on-the-job portion carried out in training sites. Students are expected to bring their hand tools to the training site.
Classroom instructions begin three months after acceptance into the program. As mentioned earlier, students must purchase all the necessary books for classroom training beforehand.
There is no part-time or summer training option at the SWMSCTF training program. All candidates must be prepared to study full-time.
Address
1010 Sandhill Ave.
Carson, CA 90746
(323) 693-2330 Phone
(323) 693-2332 Fax
Consider exploring carpentry schools in neighboring states:
Carpentry Career Outlook
You’ll be glad to know that the career outlook for carpentry is generally favorable. At a 2% growth projection for ten years between 2021 and 2031, the occupation’s average growth rate is slightly lower than the national average.
Regardless, this projection will still result in about 91,000 job openings annually within that period for interested carpenters.
While most of these openings will arise due to older workers retiring or moving into new fields, a great deal of them will result from the continuing increase in population and the need to erect new buildings and renovate old ones.
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