← Certificate III qualifications
Certificate III in Cabinet Making
MSF - Furnishing
Apprenticeship outcome for cabinet making and joinery, including kitchen and built-in furniture installation.
Entry requirements
- Signed apprenticeship contract
What you will learn
The MSF31113 covers cabinet making, joinery and built-in furniture production. Core units include reading shop drawings, machining timber and panel products on table saw, edge bander, panel saw and CNC router, constructing cabinet carcasses, fitting doors and drawers with European hardware (Blum, Hettich), installing benchtops, and on-site installation of kitchen, bathroom and wardrobe cabinetry. You learn to work with melamine board, MDF, plywood, solid timber and stone benchtops. Across the four-year apprenticeship you split time between the workshop and on-site installation, building both machining and fitting skills.
Skills you build
- Reading cabinet shop drawings and cut lists
- Operating panel saw, edge bander and CNC router
- Constructing cabinet carcasses to fine tolerances
- Fitting drawer runners, hinges and adjustable shelving
- Installing kitchens, vanities and wardrobes on site
- Templating and fitting stone and laminate benchtops
- Spray finishing and hand polishing
How the course runs
Most apprentices attend TAFE on day release (one day per week) or in one-week blocks each term. Around 600 hours of TAFE contact across the four years is typical, with a roughly 30/70 split between theory and workshop practice. Day-to-day on-job work splits between the workshop and customer sites for installation.
How you will be assessed
- Practical demonstrations in TAFE workshops
- Written knowledge tests per unit of competency
- Third-party reports from your supervising cabinetmaker
- Workshop project portfolios with photos and measurements
- On-job installation log book entries
Workplace and placement
The apprenticeship is a four-year paid workplace contract under the Australian Apprenticeships framework. You sign a Training Contract with a kitchen and joinery business or commercial joinery shop. Apprentice wages are set under the Joinery and Building Trades Award and rise each year. Many employers provide a starter set of hand tools.
Typical employers
- Kitchen and bathroom joinery businesses
- Commercial joinery shops on shopfit and office projects
- Custom furniture and bespoke joinery studios
- Caravan and motorhome cabinetry manufacturers
- Volume residential builders with in-house joinery
- Marine fit-out and superyacht joinery (Gold Coast, Sydney)
Pay after this qualification
$60,000 - $85,000 per year
Source: https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/explore-careers/occupation/cabinetmakers. Last reviewed 2026-05-21.
Is this the right course for you?
You probably thrive here if
- You like working with your hands and machines
- You can work to tight tolerances (down to a millimetre)
- You take pride in clean finish work
- You can handle dust and noise in workshop environments
- You can read complex shop drawings
It is probably not for you if
- You cannot commit to four years of apprentice pay
- You react badly to MDF dust or formaldehyde glues
- You struggle with precision and patience
- You have a back or hand condition that limits machine work
After you finish
After completing the apprenticeship you can pursue Certificate IV in Furniture Design and Technology (MSF40118) or the Diploma of Interior Design (MSF50218) for design-led roles. Specialisations include CNC programming and operation, French polishing, marquetry and bespoke furniture making. Some cabinetmakers move into shopfitting (CPC32420 Cert III in Shopfitting) or set up their own kitchen joinery business after a few years on the tools.