Each and every day we take for granted the work of carpenters. Your home, your office, the gym, and your favorite restaurant. All of these places have been impacted by highly skilled individuals trained in carpentry at Southern Regional Technical College (SRTC).
Carpenters are one of the most versatile construction occupations, with workers usually doing many different tasks. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics employment of carpenters is projected to grow 24 percent from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all occupations. The median annual wage for carpenters was $39,940 in May 2012 and the top 10 percent earned more than $72,580.
Residential carpenters typically specialize in new-home, townhome, and condominium building and remodeling. As part of a single job, they might build and set forms for footings, walls, and slabs, and frame and finish exterior walls, roofs, and decks. They also frame interior walls, build stairs, and install drywall, crown molding, doors, and cabinets. In addition, residential carpenters may tile floors and lay wood floors and carpet. Fully trained construction carpenters can easily switch from new-home building to remodeling.
Commercial carpenters typically remodel and help build commercial office buildings, hospitals, hotels, schools, and shopping malls. Some specialize in working with light-gauge and load-bearing steel framing for interior partitions, exterior framing, and curtain wall construction. Others specialize in working with concrete forming systems and finishing interior and exterior walls, partitions, and ceilings. Most commercial carpenters perform many of the same tasks as residential carpenters.
Industrial carpenters typically work in civil and industrial settings, where they build scaffolding and create and set forms for pouring concrete. Some industrial carpenters build tunnel bracing or partitions in underground passageways and mines to control the circulation of air to worksites. Others build concrete forms for tunnels, bridges, dams, power plants, or sewer construction projects.
“Students in the Carpentry program at SRTC get a good feel for working with their hands. They have the opportunity to create something that may have only been a thought or dream prior to joining the program. The projects we create for the public provide our students with a tremendous amount of self-confidence and sense of accomplishment,” commented Ken Robison, Carpentry Program Chair at SRTC.
With the economic climate continuing to improve, opportunities for carpenters are increasing. Within the field, there are many chances to specialize, and even develop sub-specialties (e.g. cabinet makers). SRTC’s Carpentry program provides a working knowledge of all of these areas and is truly a one-stop construction learning class. The program is designed to prepare students to enter the workforce as skilled carpentry helpers in concrete forming (commercial and residential), finish carpentry (trim, cabinetry, flooring, drywall), and frame carpentry (wall, floor, ceiling, roof, site layout).
Throughout the program students at SRTC are exposed to hands-on projects including building floor systems, designing and building walls, configuring and installing rafters with decking and shingles, siding installation, flooring installation, and sheetrock installation and finishing. Students also have the opportunity to build from the ground up a deck / porch complete with stairs and railing, and storage buildings that are available for purchase by the public.
For more information on the Carpentry program at SRTC or to make an inquiry regarding a repair project or deck / storage building project, please contact Ken Robison at (229) 217 – 4153 or krobison@southernregional.edu.
SRTC offers over 155 degree, diploma, and certificate programs that are designed to get you quickly into your desired career, and 27 general education courses that transfer to the University System of Georgia institutions and 19 private colleges and universities in Georgia. SRTC has instructional sites located in Ashburn, Cairo, Camilla, Moultrie, Thomasville, Tifton, and Sylvester for the convenience of our students. The College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). SACSCOC is the regional body for the accreditation of degree-granting higher education institutions in the Southern states. For the most up-to-date information on registration, class dates, and program offerings, log on to www.southernregional.edu.
Spring semester 2016 begins January 5th. Don’t wait, enroll today!