Vocational Furniture Making
Vocational • Level 3
Vocational Furniture Making
Vocational • Level 3SHARE COURSE
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About the course
The Level 3 Diploma in Furniture Making is an advanced, employer focused programme that turns strong fundamentals into professional, workshop ready mastery. You will refine precision hand skills and safe, efficient machine use while tackling complex furniture builds from brief to finished piece. Core learning includes advanced setting out and geometry, timber selection and conversion, veneering and laminating, complex joints and carcass construction, fine drawer and door fitting, jigs and fixtures, curved and shaped work, cabinet and table making, and high quality surface preparation and finishing. You will deepen your understanding of CNC ready workflows where offered, ergonomics, sustainability, and material optimisation, and you will plan projects using cutting lists, job costing, and realistic production schedules. Training happens in well equipped workshops with industry experienced tutors who guide you through demanding, portfolio worthy projects and professional standards. Assessment typically blends online or written knowledge tests with observed practical tasks and a synoptic assignment where you design or interpret a client brief, set out, manufacture, assemble, and finish a complex piece to specification, deadline, and commercial tolerances, supported by drawings, risk assessments, and process documentation. On completion, you can progress to employment as a cabinet maker, fine furniture maker, prototype or bespoke workshop technician, or into shopfitting and heritage restoration, move into a Level 3 or Level 4 apprenticeship or NVQ route for on site competence, HNC in Furniture Design or build a self employed practice with a portfolio that showcases precision, consistency, and craft identity.
Start Date/s
02/09/2026
Entry Requirements
Successful completion of the Level 2 Diploma in Furniture Making.
Modules
Advanced health, safety, and environmental management
Furniture construction principles and design
Advanced setting out, geometry, and templates
Timber science and material selection
Hand tool mastery and precision fitting
Advanced machine woodworking and calibration
Complex joints and carcass construction
Doors, drawers, and architectural fittings
Curved, laminated, and shaped work
Veneering, inlay, and surface detailing
Surface preparation and finishing systems
Digital and CNC ready workflows (where offered)
Project planning, costing, and quality assurance
Repair, restoration, and maintenance
Synoptic design and manufacture project with portfolio
Assessment
Careers & Progression
After the Level 3 Diploma in Furniture Making, you can step into employment as a cabinet or fine furniture maker, bespoke workshop technician, prototype maker, shopfitting or interiors craftsperson, CNC Programmer, CAD Technician, Bespoke Designer of Furniture, Cabinet Maker and Upholsterer, or join heritage restoration teams. Many learners progress to a Level 3 or Level 4 Apprenticeship, HNC Furniture Design or pursue an NVQ via on site assessment to evidence occupational competence and support industry card applications, subject to scheme rules. You can also specialise in veneering and marquetry, curved and laminated work, high end finishing, or CNC assisted production.
Additional Details
Equipment Needed
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety glasses, High-viz jackets, hard hats, dust mask/respirator, core hand tools, portable power tools, layout and fixing kit, and consumables.
Equipment Supplied
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety glasses, High-viz jackets, hard hats, dust mask/respirator, core hand tools, portable power tools, and consumables.
Enrichment Activities
The division is focused on links with the community and community projects, offering the opportunity for work experience for full-time learners. All areas regularly host and compete in regional and national skills competitions with SkillBuild. Other examples include: employer-sponsored 'Job of the Term' awards, construction site visits, entry into national trade skills competitions, excursions to national trade exhibitions, voluntary building work, visits to buildings of architectural significance. Work place opportunities.
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Have a question? Get in touch!
Or call us on 01282 733373
