Certificate II in Furniture Making

You'll learn to build high-quality furniture in this practical pre-apprenticeship course. We'll ensure you're ready to enter the trades industry by introducing you to a range of basic production skills including:

• use of hand and power tools
• making measurements and calculations
• timber joining
• furniture assembly
• finishing and surface coating.

You'll also learn about workplace safety and environmentally-sustainable work practices.

When you graduate from this course, you'll have a broad understanding of the industry and be prepared to choose your career path. You'll have the skills and knowledge to gain employment as an apprentice and undertake further study such as the Certificate III in Cabinet Making MSF31113.

Furniture making and cabinet making require technical, organisational and craftsmanship skills. This pre-apprenticeship from Victoria University Polytechnic can help you get your foot in the door. It will give you the industry skills and knowledge to apply for an apprenticeship and start your career. Employers often prefer apprentice applicants that have undertaken a pre-apprenticeship.

Upon graduating, you'll be ready to work as an apprentice in a production environment. You could find employment building free-standing furniture or built-in cabinets, or providing on-site assistance in installing furniture or cabinets.

Example job titles include:

• apprentice cabinet maker
• apprentice furniture maker
• assistant cabinet maker
• assistant installer (built-in cabinets for kitchens/bathrooms)
• production operator (within cabinet making enterprise).

Trades students from Victoria University Polytechnic are consistently recognised for industry awards and in skills competitions such as WorldSkills.

The course structure comprises the following core and elective units. These electives have been selected based on industry needs, graduate pathways and/or student and teacher feedback.
To be awarded the MSF20313 Certificate II in Furniture Making, a student must successfully complete a total of thirteen (13) units, comprising of:

• five (5) core units, and;

• eight (8) elective units, of which:
• one (1) unit must be selected from Group A;
• four (4) units must be selected from Group B, with a maximum of two (2) units coded MSS, and;
• three (3) units may be selected from the MSF Furnishing Training Package, other endorsed training packages and/or accredited courses. Units must be aligned at Certificate II level (maximum 3 units) or Certificate III level (maximum 1 unit) as well as be approved by the Polytechnic.

Elective units must be relevant to the work environment and the qualification, maintain the integrity of the AQF alignment and contribute to a valid, industry-supported vocational outcome.

Use our credit calculator to find out how much credit you could get towards your course, based on your previous study.

You may be able to complete your qualification sooner through formal recognition of your existing skills. This is known as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

To receive RPL, we assess your previous work, education and life experiences against recognised qualifications. Applications for RPL can be made prior to enrolling.

Call us on 1300 TAFE VP (1300 823 387) to discuss RPL options with the course manager.

Before starting your application, please read through the step-by-step VU Polytechnic application process to make sure you have all the necessary documents and information ready to successfully complete your application.

Before applying, you should consider whether you also want to apply for:

• Credit transfer/Recognition of prior learning (RPL): If you have significant experience or studies elsewhere you may be eligible for credit for some units of your course and not have to undertake them.