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Carpenter and builder apprenticeships in New Zealand
Kāmura
Carpenters construct, repair and install structures from timber and other building materials — framing, cladding, fixtures and renovations.
The facts
- 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 you need to start
- 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 →
Employers listed in carpenter and builder work (10)
New Zealand businesses in this trade that take on apprentices. Name, trade and region only — this site holds no reviews or ratings.
- Arrow International
- Classic Builders
- Fowler Homes
- GJ Gardner Homes
- Hawkins Construction
- Jennian Homes
- LT McGuinness
- Mike Greer Homes
- Naylor Love
- Naylor Love Auckland
Pay, duration and entry requirements quoted from Tahatū Career Navigator — Carpenter and builder, read 2026-09-18. Wage floors from Employment New Zealand, checked 2026-09-18.