My name is Murray McWhinnie
and I'm a second year apprentice
at Andrew Miller Architectural Joinery.
What I like most about my apprenticeship
is seeing the jobs start from the very beginning,
from having big battens of wood,
up until the end where it's nice finished doors and windows.
And I also like the skills that I need to use.
Every job you're using a different set of skills.
We specialise in many different things in the workshop,
from sash and case windows to fabulous handmade kitchens
to making big doors for old houses,
so the workshop's got to flow.
So you start off by getting your timber,
chopping it to length.
Then you put it through the saw
to cut it to various different sizes.
Then you go down to the next end of the workshop
where it's put through the forecutter or the surface planer
to make it all nice and smooth and straight.
And then it goes onto the spindle moulder
for any glass checks or any mouldings
that need to get taken out of the timber.
Once that's done, it gets taken onto your workbench
where that's where you start to do all your prepping
for whatever it is that you're gonna be manufacturing.
- Working in the workshop, no two days are the same.
One day I could be working on an old Victorian fireplace,
and then the next day
I could be building a window from scratch.
Something that has surprised me in being a joiner
is the variety of wood that I work with.
All the different kinds of woods that I work with
have different characteristics.
So some wood might be softer than others,
some wood might be harder than others,
and you need to work around that.
I'd say that it's a brilliant career path to choose
because everybody's gonna need a joiner
at some point or another.
There's always gonna be somebody
that has to have a door hung or a window fixed
or skirting boards replaced,
so you're never going to be out of work.
There are many different kind of joiners
and each have their own unique set of skills,
so a kitchen fitter specifically just builds kitchens
and fits kitchens.
Then you get a workshop joiner like me,
who more or less builds stuff from scratch,
doors, windows, anything.
Then you get an on site joiner
who's out on site putting up kits, et cetera.
Although there are lots of different kinds of joiner,
they all share the same set of basic skills.
When I was in school, I really enjoyed woodworking.
So that kinda sparked my interest in woodworking
and working with my hands and being creative.
Being an apprentice,
my week is kinda split into being at college
and being at work, so I spend two days a week at college,
mastering all my hand tools and all the finer joinery skills
and then the rest of the week,
I'm either in the workshop working away
or I go to other sites
where I can measure up and fit things myself.
The hardest thing about being an apprentice joiner
is that the pressure is always on you
to complete a new task to the highest standard.
And although that you might get shown
how to do it a couple of times,
there's always the pressure you've put on yourself
to complete it to the best of your ability.
But as your apprenticeship goes forward,
your confidence grows and you get better.
I wish that I'd known that you can just phone up companies
and ask them if they're looking for any apprentices,
because when I was in school,
I thought it would be a lot more complicated
to find a job like this. I think it's very important here to have apprentices
to keep the trade alive.
I find it very satisfying to pass on my experience
to apprentices and watch their skill and confidence grow
from their first year to their fourth year
and then progressing it on from that.
And hopefully they find the passion and the pride as well
that I take in my work and knowing that I've been part
of their growth through their apprenticeship
makes me really proud
and gives me a lot of satisfaction in what I do.
- I enjoy working for my tradesman.
I get on really well with him, very helpful.
And also with the younger apprentices as well,
it gives me this chance to pass on the skills
that I've learned to them.
Working on traditional sash and case windows
from start to finish is really satisfying,
and it makes me really proud.