Carpentry & Joinery Level 1


  • Start Date: 01/09/2025
  • Course is for: School Leaver
  • Course Length: 1 Year
  • Funding Support Funding Support:
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This course will help you to develop the skills and knowledge you need to prepare you for a job or an apprenticeship.

It also contains lots of added extras such as English and maths training, relevant work experience and health and safety training. To be able to work on a construction site, you’ll need essential health, safety and environmental awareness skills and knowledge.

We’ll help you get these, meaning you can go on work placements and are one step closer to securing employment or an apprenticeship.

The course is made up of the following units:

  • Health, safety and welfare in construction and associated industries
  • Maintain and use carpentry and joinery hand tools
  • Produce woodworking joints
  • Prepare and use carpentry and joinery portable power tools
  • Knowledge of construction technology
  • Knowledge of technical information, quantities and communication with others.
  • Your progress will be monitored through a series of short on-line tests, regular practical assessments and an extensive skills test at the end of the course.

Maths and English

You will also attend maths and English sessions and have the opportunity to improve your GCSE grades if you need to. 

Required Entry Qualifications

Two GCSE grades at 3 or above, ideally including maths and English, or an equivalent.

A highly motivated team of industry specialists with a wealth of knowledge across a wide range of vocational trades will form your teaching team.

Our aim is to work with you to support you to develop your knowledge, skills and behaviours to succeed in the construction environment.

If you have the right attitude and commitment, we can support you to become who you want to be.

Our industry partners include Tolent, Sir Robert McAlpine, Ryder and Bellway, ensuring that our course content is always up to date and relevant to today’s construction industry and that our work placement opportunities are with some of the best employers in our region.

We will track your progresss throughout the course, giving you feedback on how to improve if needed.

You will be assessed through practical tasks and projects from which you’ll create a portfolio of practical evidence, set online exams and written assignments/coursework.

All assessments are carried out against national standards specific to the constrution trade.

You’ll train at our purpose built Skills Academy for Construction which is kitted out with dedicated workshop areas for each trade.

There may be other costs for uniform or kit.

We will tell you more about this during the application process and let you know about the funding support that is available to help cover some of the costs of coming to college, if you meet the eligibility criteria.

After this course, you’ll be able to progress to a job, to one of our Level 2 courses or onto an apprenticeship.

School Leaver Course Guide 2025/2026

View or download our course guide for 16-18 year olds.

Gateshead College School Leavers guide for 2025 - 2026