Career Suggestion

Wood machinist

Wood machinists cut and shape timber for products like cabinets, staircases, mouldings and frames for doors and windows.

Average salary (a year)

£23000.0 to £31000.0 (starter to experienced)

Typical hours (a week)

40.0 to 43.0 a week

You could work

evenings / weekends on shifts

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
  • applying directly

College

You can take a college course that would teach you some of the skills needed to get a trainee wood machinist position.

Courses include:

  • basic construction skills
  • carpentry and joinery
  • wood machining

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, such as:

  • Wood Machinist
  • Wood Product Manufacturing Operative
  • Carpentry and Joinery

If you want to work in the furniture industry you could do a Furniture Manufacturing Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

These take around 2 years to complete and are a mix of on-the-job training with study time spent off-site.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

More Information

  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide

Work

You could start as a labourer in construction, or an assistant with a wood products or furniture manufacturing company.

You could then specialise in machining work after doing on-the-job training.

Direct Application

You could apply directly to work as a wood machinist with companies that make timber products. You'll usually need experience of working with manufacturing machinery, CNC machine tools or bench joinery.

Further information

You can learn more about how to become a wood machinist from Go Construct.

Skills and knowledge

You'll need:

  • the ability to operate and control equipment
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • concentration skills
  • the ability to analyse quality or performance
  • knowledge of maths
  • the ability to work on your own
  • knowledge of manufacturing production and processes
  • to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Day-to-day tasks

As a wood machinist, you could:

  • follow detailed technical drawings to plan jobs
  • work out the amount and type of timber needed
  • measure and mark out cutting lines
  • cut and shape timber, using tools like saws, planes and routers
  • operate computer numerically controlled (CNC) equipment
  • carry out quality control checks

In some jobs, you'll also assemble products, using the pieces you've created.

Working environment

You could work in a workshop or at a sawmill.

Your working environment may be dusty, physically demanding and noisy.

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

With experience, you could become a workshop supervisor or manager.

You could apply to do a Craft Carpentry and Joinery Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship to specialise in creating architectural pieces for heritage restoration projects.

You might also use your skills to move into:

  • furniture making
  • shopfitting
  • kitchen and bathroom installation

Related careers

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