What It Means To Be A Cabinet Maker

Cabinet making is one of those trade which de­mands for craftsmanship at its best.

There has been tremendous shift from traditional to modern cabi­net making: this shift include the new modern day exquisite designs and layouts, types of fittings, and a wide range of materials.

In Fiji there is a demand for skilled cabinet makers in the build­ing sector.

Interested individuals venturing into this trade needs passion drive and at the top of that list skills training to perfect this trade.

A cabinetmaker as the name would suggest, is someone who creates built-in cabinets, as well as fine wood furniture.

A cabinetmaker will build to a customer’s specifications, provid­ing the customer with original drawings of what the finished product will look like.

Various woods, materials and styles can be used.

What does a Cabinetmaker do?

Before the art of industrial design came to be, cabinetmakers were responsible for the entire creation process of a piece of furniture, from its initial conception to its shape and colour all the way to fi­nal production.

Some of the more famous cabinet­makers like George Hepplewhite, Thomas Chippendale and Thomas Sheraton even authored books about the art of furniture making, featuring their designs and compo­sitions.

Interested in becoming a cabinet maker?

A person needs to be trained to become cabinet makers through formal training or they could have learnt on the job through industry experience.

However, you can also do trade test certification in cabinet making trade after gaining the necessary training and experience.

This would open many opportu­nities in your career but it is very important to gain the experience as well.

Gaining Experience

It is vital for a cabinet maker to gain experience in order to become a skilled worker.

Industry statistics indicate that it takes about one year of work expe­rience to learn the basic tasks and operations related to cabinet mak­ing.

Hence, it can take three or more years to become a skilled worker.

Certification and training pro­grams also provide possibly vi­tal hands on instruction that can help cabinet-makers become more skilled.

There are many factors that would affect how a person has gained ex­perience.

This would be depend on their ex­posure to the different types of ma­terial and machinery that is used at your workplace.

The types of jobs that you do will also teach important lessons that’s not learnt in a formal training in­stitution.

Career Pathways

If you are a hands-on person, who enjoys working creatively on furniture, then this is one of most interesting job prospects for you. Getting trained through NTPC’s Technical Training Division’s modular programs provides op­portunities for learning and also provides the necessary hands on experience to enter into workforce.

In the industry there will be new techniques learnt everyday with different machinery so it is impor­tant that a person tries to enhance their skills.

It may take some years to master the skills of this trade and Trade Testing is the best way forward into gaining recognised qualifica­tion for your skills sets.

As such trade test provides av­enues to progress from being an as­sistant tradesperson to a qualified, skilled and competent tradesman.

National Trade Testing Scheme (NTTS)

This scheme is offered by the Na­tional Trade Testing Department of the National Training and Pro­ductivity Centre of Fiji National University.

The scheme ensures that compe­tent, efficient and experienced per­sons receive proper recognition for their skills.

Tradespeople passing any of the trade tests will be issued with na­tionally recognized certificates of competency and employers can be assured that applicants for employ­ment possessing these certificates have actually attained the degree of skill certified.

Under the NTTS a total of 29 dif­ferent trades are offered for skills assessments of which cabinet mak­er is one of it. Certification is of­fered at 3 different Levels, namely:

• Class III Assistant Tradesper­sons Level
• Class II Qualified Tradesper­sons Level
• Class I Supervisor Level

Testimonial

For Mukesh Prasad, has always been fascinated with cabinetmak­ing from a young age so he took it up while in school. “Working with furniture attracted me into taking up cabinet making trade,” he said.

The 40 year old then attended Montfort Technical Institute in Savusavu for two years, where he came to know about trade testing.

“I sat for my class III trade test in 1998 and joined the work force.

“It was not easy but I was always interested in learning new tech­niques and I tried to grasp as much as I could to learn,” he said.

“My inspiration came from the senior tradesman and I always challenged myself to complete tasks before time and with perfec­tion.”

Along the way, Prasad faced many other challenges in his career but this did not stop him from gaining recognition of skills in the field.

“I worked hard and got my Class II and Class I certification in 2007 and 2009 respectively.

“In 2017, I started my own busi­ness Elegant Furniture and Join­ery and I now I can proudly say that all the hard work as eventually paid it off for me,” he said.

“To anyone who is seeking a ca­reer in cabinet making trade is to keep working hard, take on chal­lenges in a positive manner as there are a lot of opportunities in this field.”

For Rajneel Singh, the fascination to transform a piece of wood into furniture, drew him into the trade.

“My career started off working in big industries and where I was not provided much motivation, I had decided to master this trade and one day to have my own business.

I achieved success through expe­rience and I was determined to de­liver quality output,” he said.

“I learnt about trade testing and was determined to get my skills recognised.

“I attended evening classes and was able to complete all three of my trade test class certification.

“I specialise in designing, 3D mod­elling as well as joinery and cabi­net making.”

Mr Singh operates his own busi­ness Unik Designs and Joinery So­lutions in Nausori.

The 35 year old said the trade Test certification provided him with security and to his then employer satisfaction of having a qualified tradesperson.

He said through NTPC he was able to complete the various short courses in PLC programming, Graphic designing, Cabinet mak­ing modules.

“This also provided me with mon­etary benefit in terms of negotiat­ing based on skills and qualifica­tion.

“I dreamt of being an entrepre­neur and I started operating my own cabinet making and joinery business in Joinery and Cabinet Making,” Mr Singh said.

“You may ask why is important for those who are in the trade sec­tor to complete their trade test ex­ams, because it allows individuals to be legally certified and qualified.

“Allows individuals to negotiate for better pay once skills are en­hanced after experience is gained. And to be academically as well as practically qualified.

“This certifications also provides opportunity in future to upgrade qualification.”

Feedback: maraia.vula@fijisun.com.fj