Apprentice Carpenter

Summary

Join our Site Carpentry apprenticeship with South Devon College! We're after an enthusiastic person to support our team in maintaining and repairing properties and assets for South Hams District and West Devon Borough Councils.

Wage

£16,950.44 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Training course

Carpentry and joinery (level 2)

Hours

Working 5 days a week (including College training), 7.4 hours a day, 37 hours a week. Shifts to be confirmed.

37 hours a week

Start date

Tuesday 1 July 2025

Duration

2 years

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Are you looking to kick start your career in an exciting and impactful industry?

We are looking for an enthusiastic individual to join our Site Carpentry apprenticeship programme which will be run in conjunction with South Devon College. You will assist the wider team with managing the repair and upkeep of properties and assets for South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council.

As a first step in attaining a professional career, the broad purpose of this apprenticeship is to start you on your chosen occupation of Carpenter. Once your qualifications have been attained, it will enable you to install, maintain and repair our properties in industrial, commercial and residential (including communal outdoor) environments and will include day to day reactive repairs and planned maintenance across our picturesque districts.

This Site Carpentry Apprenticeship (Level 2) will last for 24 months so you will need to display a high level of commitment and focus as you go about your work, therefore we will ask that you bring a sense of maturity with you. As an apprentice in this role, there may be times when you are solely responsible for company property, such as tools and work vehicles. You will need therefore, to demonstrate that you can work and operate within the limits of your own competence and know when, or from whom, to seek help and support when needed. Above all you will need to display professionalism when about your duties and have a high regard for client satisfaction and prioritise a safe working environment for yourself and your colleagues.

The successful candidate must be able to work:

With a safety mind set to protect self, colleagues, and others
Effectively within a team/crew
In a professional manner both in appearance, language, and behaviour
Reliably and consistently attend work and arrive on time.
With a good standard of communication to the job supervisor, colleagues, clients, and others to achieve work to a high standard as part of a team
Enthusiastically, be adaptable and have a commitment to a high standard of customer care and work

Where you'll work

Totnes Depot
Babbage Road
Totnes
TQ99EN

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

SOUTH DEVON COLLEGE

Your training course

Carpentry and joinery (level 2)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

Comply with health and safety regulations, standards, and guidance.
Identify and use safety control equipment, for example, RPE, dust suppression, PPE and LEV.
Comply with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards, and guidance. Segregate resources for reuse, recycling and disposal.
Comply with industry regulations, standards, and guidance.
Prepare and maintain a safe working area.
Interpret and use information from drawings and specifications.
Estimate required materials and produce a cutting list.
Verbally communicate with others, applying construction terminology.
Select, use and store hand tools.
Select, use and store power tools.
Maintain and sharpen hand tools.
Produce jigs.
Identifies well-being support available to self and others.
Site carpenter: Apply first fix techniques and practices for: 1. structural carcassing, 2. straight timber or metal partition walls, 3. floor joists 4. floor joist coverings and 5. straight flights of stairs.
Site carpenter: Install structural fixings.
Site carpenter: Size timber from sizing tables.
Site carpenter: Apply site second fix techniques and practices for:1. service encasement, 2. cladding 3. wall and floor units and fitments, 4. handrails and spindles to straight flights of stairs, 5. internal and external doors, 6. skirting boards and architrave, 7. window boards.
Site carpenter: Apply site carpenter techniques and practices to construction of rafter roofs, including trussed (prefabricated) and traditional (built on site) including the construction of verge, eaves and fitting loft access.
Site carpenter: Use and store laser levels for example cross line laser.
Site carpenter: Form connections, for example, using joints, nails, screws, bolts and adhesive.
Site carpenter: Apply measuring, marking out, cutting (square and angled), mitring, hinging and recessing techniques.
Site carpenter: Carrying out splicing and scribing techniques.
Architectural joiner: Produce setting out details, including setting rods, and mark out for timber products.
Architectural joiner: Produce basic woodworking joints including dovetail, bridal, mortise and tenon and halving.
Architectural joiner: Form connections using dowels, biscuit, staples and adhesives.
Architectural joiner: Apply techniques and practices to the manufacture and assembly of a timber window with casement including glazing rebates and associated ironmongery.
Architectural joiner: Apply manufacture and assembly techniques for first fix products: 1. straight staircases, 2. door frames and linings.
Architectural joiner: Apply manufacture and assembly techniques for second fix products: 1. timber doors, 2. wall and floor units, 3. timber mouldings, 4. staircase spindles and balustrades.
Architectural joiner: Fit ironmongery including door locks, door handles, door hinges, latches and draw runners.
Architectural joiner: Inspect, prepare and operate fixed machinery.
Comply with health and safety regulations, standards, and guidance.
Identify and use safety control equipment, for example, RPE, dust suppression, PPE and LEV.
Comply with environmental and sustainability regulations, standards, and guidance. Segregate resources for reuse, recycling and disposal.
Comply with industry regulations, standards, and guidance.
Prepare and maintain a safe working area.
Interpret and use information from drawings and specifications.
Estimate required materials and produce a cutting list.
Verbally communicate with others, applying construction terminology.
Select, use and store hand tools.
Select, use and store power tools.
Maintain and sharpen hand tools.
Produce jigs.
Identifies well-being support available to self and others.

Your training plan

The Level 2 Site Carpentry Apprenticeship provides hands-on training in essential carpentry skills used on construction sites. Apprentices learn how to measure, cut, and install building components such as floors, doors, staircases, and roofing structures. The programme covers both first fix (structural work) and second fix (finishing work), with a strong focus on health and safety, use of tools, and working to detailed specifications. Training is delivered by experienced tutors at South Devon College through a mix of classroom-based learning, practical workshops, and on-site experience, preparing apprentices for a career in the construction industry.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade 3)
Maths (grade 3)

Desirable qualifications

Other in:

UK Driving License (grade UK Driving License)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Problem solving skills
Initiative
Time management

Other requirements

This vacancy will include site work and the hazards associated with that work.

About this company

South Hams District Council and West Devon Borough Council are local authorities delivering a wide range of services for residents and businesses across south west Devon. In a shared service partnership, we bring cost effective and customer focused services to residents and businesses across the South Hams and West Devon, including waste & recycling, planning, housing, environmental health and community services. From beautiful moorland to tranquil beaches, town life to country living, South Hams and West Devon are great places to live and work.

https://www.southhams.gov.uk/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

Dependent on role availability individuals could progress to an carpenter role, or within the maintenance team, however there are also many opportunities across the wider Community Services team and the wider councils.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

SOUTH DEVON COLLEGE

Gareth Parsons

garethparsons@southdevon.ac.uk

01803540305

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000322356.

Apply now

Closes in 15 days (Friday 20 June 2025 at 11:59pm)

When you apply, you’ll be asked to sign in with a GOV.UK One Login. You can create one at the same time as applying for this apprenticeship.

Cookies on Find an apprenticeship

Contents