Carpentry & Joinery
Welcome
A warm welcome to the Carpentry & Joinery curriculum page! We can't wait to welcome you this September. Here you'll find lots of information about the Carpentry & Joinery course, plus useful videos to watch and activities to take part in prior to starting your course.
Getting ready to start your course is exciting but at the same time you may be a little nervous. Don’t worry! Whether you’ve had some experience of this course or not, we are here to advise and guide you at this important time in your life.
Our tutors have put together a series of exclusive pre-enrolment activities to give you a taster of the work we will be doing in college. There are also links and resources that we think will help further your knowledge of this sector. We hope you find these interesting and useful.
Please don’t hesitate to contact any of the curriculum team if you have any questions about the course or the activities on this site. You will find our contact details below.
Stay safe and well and we look forward to seeing you very soon.
Contact Information
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the team if you have any questions about the materials on this page or about your course in September.
bwhitfield@wvr.ac.uk - Ben Whitfield - Sector Leader for Apprenticeships
lmoorhouse@wvr.ac.uk - Lee Moorhouse - Sector Leader for Carpentry & Joinery
ehumphreys@wvr.ac.uk - Elliot Humphreys - Apprentice Lecturer and Assessor
You can also request a 1:1 chat with our tutors over phone or video call. Click here to book.
Meet the Team
Student Success
Carpentry & Joinery Level 3 student Drew, former student of Beamont Collegiate Academy, has been working as an apprentice for two and half years with leading construction company Barratt Homes.
Drew feels he has been well supported through his apprenticeship: “Elliot, my tutor, has guided me a lot and has taught me a variety of skills. "
Drew’s skills have been finely tuned thanks to working with Barratt Homes: “I have learned a lot working with them, as they set very high standards.” Drew also feels that being an apprentice has been a huge confidence boost: “I’ve gained a lot of confidence throughout my apprenticeship with Barratt. The company has given me a lot of support.”
Pre-enrolment Activities
Please find below a selection of pre-enrolment learning materials for you to explore.
Activity 1 - Woodworking Joints
Level 1 Carpentry & Joinery focuses on the joinery, rather than the carpentry. Joinery is the process of making and creating anything out of wood, by cutting the wood into different joints and fixing them together. When you know how to recognise and create these joints, you can make anything you like out of wood!
Joinery is everywhere and different types of joints include: Dovetail, Mortice & Tenon, Lap joints, as well as many more. Some visual examples are provided.
A simple activity, in preparation for starting our level 1 course: why not see how many joints you can find around your home. You might find them on a window, or a door, or even on your staircase. If you can find any woodworking joints in your house, take a picture and email them to us, we'd be interested to see what you find. You can reach us on the above email addresses or engage with us on our social media accounts.
Activity 2 - Tool Recognition
A joiner or carpenter will need a wide range range of tools. Luckily for our students, we provide everything you will need to complete the course. Another activity we would like to set you, our potential student, is to research what tools you think a joiner will need. You can conduct your research in anyway you like but why not try one of our favourite tool shop's website Axminster Tools. Once you have decided what you might need, put together a price list of what these tools will cost and let us know your findings.
Don't forget, you can use our social media and maybe tag in any tool shops you come across.
Extra Curriculum
Trips out are essential. Whether it's a visit to UK Construction Week at the Birmingham NEC, to see George Clark's seminar, or to a local building site to get an insight into health & safety on site, our tutors are always looking for days out and events to attend!
In The Community
As a department, we love nothing better than getting our students out for some real-life 'building site' experience. The picture above was taken after a week-long project we did for Victoria Park in Warrington, where the staff and students built a pagoda.
Guest Speakers
We have welcomed guest speakers such as power tool specialists HiKoki and industry leaders like Gorilla Glue, Festool and many more have all been through our workshop doors to impart their specialist knowledge to our students. Such brand awareness is essential if you are to know the right equipment to use when you are fully qualified.
Useful Resources
Below are some very informative videos which give thorough instructions on how to create a selection of woodworking joints. They will show you the kind of work you will be undertaking on the WVR Carpentry & Joinery course and the quality you should be able to produce, once your Level 1 course is over. Enjoy!
How to make a Dovetail Joint
How to make a Mortice & Tenon Joint
How to make a Housing Joint
Apprenticeships
Firstly some FAQ's on apprenticeships:
Q. What classifies an apprentice?
A. An apprentice is a learner who is employed and attends the college for training, Typically this is done on a day release basis - one day in college - four days on site.
Q. How can I get an apprenticeship?
A. There are a several ways. You can gain employment prior to enrolling at the college, or we can help you find employment whilst learning on our full-time programme. You could also gain employment through the mandatory work placements we provide. There is also a chance you could find a job through our network of contacts.
Q. How long does it take to become qualified?
A. This depends on the level but typically it takes two years to qualify as a Level 2, and Level 3 will take a further year.
The Carpentry & Joinery department and wider college as a whole has a long history of working with local employers of all sizes. If you want to become an apprentice, or you already have an employer in place, please contact Curriculum Manager Andrew Atkin - aatkin@wvr.ac.uk.
Andrew will discuss the process and arrange for an on-site assessor/coach to contact the company and discuss the apprenticeship in detail. If you don't feel ready to start an apprenticeship then simply enrol onto the full-time Level 1 course. A large amount of our students who become apprentices firstly complete Level 1 as a full-time student. This enables them to gain the basic hand skills needed for the industry in a safe, controlled environment.
Useful Links
Our awarding body is City & Guilds. Please follow this link for some in-depth course information, including mock theory exams, similar to the ones you might be taking. They also provide a text book for the course, which you may like to purchase.
If you are looking for an apprenticeship, you will need to contact potential employers yourself and send them a CV, but in the meantime, why not look at the Government website? A lot of apprenticeships are advertised here.
Our local tool store is Axminster Tools and they provide our students with discounts on tools and PPE, as well as providing our department with specialised, bespoke demo days and power tools. Why not check them out?
Our college uniform, which consists of an embroidered polo shirt, safety boots and cargo trousers, can be purchased from J&K Ross Workwear, located on Winwick road near our Warrington Campus.
Students' Achievements
We love nothing more than seeing the potential in our learners grow. Every year we host our own in-house skills competition, where local and national construction companies come in to judge the standard of work completed. The best of the best are pitted against each other to compete for prizes such as a new set of tools, and potentially the offer of an apprenticeship.
There is also a national CITB competition called SkillBuild that we enter our best students in to, finishing a very respectable second place on 3 out of the past 5 years. Will you be the one to finally finish in first place?
We also host an award ceremony at the end of every academic year at St Elphins Church in Warrington, where our most deserving students are awarded WVR Carpentry & Joinery Student of the Year.