A carpentry apprenticeship will give you the skills and knowledge you need to become a qualified tradie and kick start a rewarding career. Before you get started, there might be one question you’ve been asking yourself – how much will I earn?
To help answer this question, we dig a little deeper into the kind of apprentice wages you can expect, as well as what your carpentry career and future earning potential in Australia looks like.
Apprentice Wages 2019
According to PayScale, average salary or wage rate for a carpenter apprentice in Australia are:
- $15.01 – $21.98 per hour
- $22, 665 – $47,012 per year
One of the main reasons people are drawn to carpentry apprenticeships is the fact that you get paid while you learn. While many of your friends might still be studying, you’ll be out in the world making a living while also developing sought-after skills.
Let’s start at the beginning. To earn apprentice wages, you have to sign a training contract with your employer and undertake the CPC30211 Certificate III in Carpentry (Carpenters). Once your carpentry apprenticeship is set up, you can start earning yourself some cash.
You may have noticed that there aren’t set wages. The reason for this is because your earning change throughout your apprenticeship. For example, a 3rd-year carpenter’s wages will be higher than your 1st-year carpenter wages.
There are two ways you can move to the next level of an apprenticeship:
- Time based: You’ll move to the next pay level after you’ve worked a certain amount of time (e.g. 12 months).
- Competency-based: You’ll move to the next pay level when you’ve achieved a certain amount of the total skill or training requirements of your apprenticeship (this might be earlier than 12 months).
The award you’re covered by will affect the one that applies to you. To wrap your head around the finer details of this, as well as your workplace rights and obligations, it’s best to visit the Australian Governments Fair Work Ombudsman website.
Qualified Apprentices Wages
Once you’ve completed your carpentry apprenticeship, your earning potential starts to go up. According to PayScale, in Australia qualified carpenters earn an average salary from around $40,000 to $90,000 a year.
There are lots of factors which affect how much you earn. These include who you work for, how often, and what type of carpentry you do. As in most careers, the more experienced you are, the more you are likely to earn.
Qualified carpenters are also able to start their own businesses. Depending on how business savvy and successful you are, there is really no limit to how much you can earn when working for yourself.
No matter what field of carpentry you’re interested in, the demand for qualified carpenters in Australia is so strong that all job prospects look promising.
How to Find a Carpentry Apprenticeship
At CWBTS, we can help you start your carpentry career with our CPC30211 Certificate III in Carpentry. Once you’ve completed your carpentry apprenticeship with us, you’ll have the skills, knowledge and techniques needed to start earning the wage of a qualified carpenter.
This Cert III is a fantastic entry point into the industry for anyone; regardless of if you’re looking for a career change, or you’ve just finished high school. At CWBTS, we’re committed to giving you the highest level of education and training. With strong connections in the industry, we offer a great way to lay the foundations for your career.
Study at CWBTS
Once you become a qualified carpenter, you’ll have the opportunity to enrol in the CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building). This course is your next step towards owning your own business and becoming a registered builder.
You can then take it up a notch and enrol in the CPC50210 Diploma of Building and Construction (Building). Armed with this nationally recognised qualification, a number of carpentry jobs become available to you, such as a project supervisor, building manager, site supervisor, estimator, project manager or foreperson.
According to PayScale, some of these higher-level carpentry jobs in the building and construction industry can earn you well over $150,000 a year. Compared to other industries in Australia, the earning potential in building and construction is really impressive. The best part? It all begins with a carpentry apprenticeship.
How Much Can I Earn As A Carpenter?
At CWBTS, we’re here to help you start your next big journey. If you’re interested in a carpentry apprenticeship or would like to know more about apprentice wages through a Certificate III in Carpentry, get in touch here or give us a call on 1300 4 CWBTS.
