DOLE says carpenters among most in-demand workers

MANILA, Philippines - Secretary of Labor and Employment Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz on Tuesday said carpenters are among the most in-demand jobs in the next five to 10 years.

“Carpenters play an important role in construction. He does most of the wood works and builds structures according to the design of architects and layout of engineers,” Baldoz said.

The finding came from the the latest labor market signaling study of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Project JobsFit: The DOLE 20/20 Vision.

DOLE’s 127 Career Guides is a series of occupational briefs detailing a job’s functions, basic educational requirements, required skills, competencies, physical attributes and characteristics, salary or compensation, employment opportunities, prospect for career advancement, and cost of education. It also identifies the in-demand and hard-to-fill occupations in the country today and the next ten years.

Although most carpenters are self-employed, wage employment opportunities for carpenters here and abroad are abundant for those who have the most training and skills.

As of 27 November, the Phil-JobNet posted 492 vacancies for carpenters. Other than in construction, carpenters are also needed in such industries as real estate; renting and business activities; public administration and defense; compulsory social security; other community, social and personal service activities, and in private households.

In the Philippines, a carpenter is paid P450 to P600 per day, depending on his skills. A potential carpenter should be at least a high school graduate and has taken a vocational course in carpentry in any institution accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). The cost of a carpentry course is approximately P5,000 to P7,000 in private technical schools and from P3,000 to P5,000 in public training institutions.

Based on the TESDA’s website,  the following training institutions offer a 160-hour course in carpentry: Abra Skills Development Center, Marcos Agro-Industrial School, Aparri School of Arts and Trades, Southern Isabela School of Arts and Trades, St. Anthony of Gubat, Sorsogon, Inc., Leon Ganzon Polytechnic College, Tagum National Trade School, Surigao State College of Technology, and Alcantara National Trade School.

They usually build and construct using various kinds of wood such as plywood, lumber, and wallboard in accordance to the design, layout, and blueprints of the structure being built. They also deal with engineers and foremen. Carpenters are skilled in examining the woods to be used in construction.

For overseas work, there are three types of carpenters according to the United States Department of Labor’s 2012-2013 Occupational Outlook Handbook. Residential carpenters build and remodel structures to be occupied. They build and set forms for footings, walls and slabs and frame walls, roofs, and decks. They build stairs, doors, and cabinets.

The highly-skilled can tile floors and lay wood floors and carpets. Another type is the commercial carpenter who helps in building and remodeling offices, hospitals, hotels, schools, shopping malls, among others. Some of them focus on framing interior partitions, exterior framing, curtain wall construction, concrete forming systems, and finishing interior and exterior walls. An industrial carpenter on the other hand, works in civil and industrial setting by putting scaffolding and set forms for pouring concrete. They sometimes build tunnel bracing in underground passageway and mines to control air circulation in these worksites. Some build concrete forms for tunnels, bridges, dams, power plants, and sewer construction projects.

“An ideal carpenter is someone who has broad knowledge in construction and basic skills in engineering, familiar with different types of wood and knows how to utilize it. He knows how to construct and repair damaged wood portions,” the Career Guides describes, adding that physically, aspiring carpenters should have strong physical built to carry heavy loads and to have good manual dexterity.

They are also expected to be able to follow directions accurately and easily.

“A good carpenter who knows his craft has a lot of opportunities to earn. He just needs to combine it with hard work, patience, diligence, and should value his work,” Baldoz said.