Carpenter and builder apprenticeships in New Zealand

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Carpenters construct, repair and install structures from timber and other building materials — framing, cladding, fixtures and renovations.

Last checked 18 September 2026.

How long did your apprenticeship take?

Put it on the record. Anonymous, about two minutes.

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How long is a carpenter and builder apprenticeship, and what does it pay?

A carpenter and builder apprenticeship in New Zealand takes 3–4 years. Once qualified, the job most commonly pays $52,000–$84,000 a year, starting at $50,000 a year and reaching $103,000 a year with experience. No registration is required for this trade.

How long it takes: 3–4 years
Pay when starting out: $50,000 a year
Most common pay: $52,000–$84,000 a year
Experienced: $103,000 a year
School qualifications: NCEA Level 2 is usually required for the study or training.
Registration: Not required for this trade.

Those pay ranges are for the job, not for an apprentice. While you are training your legal floor is the training minimum wage of $19.16 an hour if you are 20 or over and your agreement requires at least 60 credits a year of industry training; otherwise it is the adult minimum of $23.95. Plenty of employers pay well above either. How apprentice pay works →

What do you need to start a carpenter and builder apprenticeship?

An employer willing to take you on, first of all — everything else follows the job. NCEA Level 2 is usually required for the study or training. Beyond that, what a carpenter and builder apprenticeship asks for is:

An apprenticeship in carpentry.
A driver licence and experience in similar work are often useful.

In every trade the order is the same: you find the employer first, then the training is arranged around the job. How to get an apprenticeship →

How the BCITO apprenticeship works, what it costs and what you are paid: Carpentry and building apprenticeships in NZ →

Which New Zealand employers take on carpenter and builder apprentices?

We list 10 of them, across 6 regions: Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Otago, Waikato, Wellington. Each was verified against the company's own website, and each listing carries a name, a trade and a region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings of any of them.

Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Carpenter and builder, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-11-01.