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Construction careers - what's the best apprenticeship: carpentry or landscaping?
- Corey Fox Landscaping
- Mar 26
- 4 min read
Interested in a carpentry apprenticeship? You could go that way and in four years you'll be pretty good at carpentry.
OR
You could go for a landscaping apprenticeship and in four years' time, carpentry will be just one of the many skills you've learned!
If you're trying to decide the best trade apprenticeship, here's our take:
Landscaping is the only trade that has such a huge variety of skills to master, landing you in a career that spans construction, creativity and the horticulture. You can be designing plans one day, on an excavator the next, stone-cladding a retaining wall or staircase another, then elbow deep in soil doing a plant-out the same week*.
It’s an awesome career for people who want variety in their day-to-day work, love working with their hands, being outdoors and getting a bit creative building beautiful spaces.
Here's some of the skills you'll learn during a landscaping apprenticeship
Landscape design
What makes a good design, how to work with the block of land and design to code and to council regulations. Learn how the elements and principles of design come together to create a blend of hard and softscaping that feels balanced and fitting with the surrounding environment.
Earthworks and excavation
Since being a kid watching those diggers you've wanted to have a go and now's your chance! Most projects begin with demolition and excavation, preparing the site for the new design. As you progress through your training you'll learn to operate heavy machinery and conduct earthworks with precision to ensure the finished design is exactly to specification.
Stone masonry
Flagstone, crazy paving, freeform walling - you'll learn about the properties of different stones such as limestone, marble and sandstone so that you understand which materials suit which applications. Then you'll learn how to cut and create stunning features with stone such as fireplaces and feature walls.
Bricklaying
An essential skill for landscape construction is creating block retaining walls. During your apprenticeship you'll learn bricklaying, but just as importantly, you'll learn about how to build safely, including compliance regulations for footings, heights, engineering etc.
Concreting
Concrete is one of the most versatile materials in landscaping, from forming the foundations of our hardscaping, right through to creating the hero statements of our designs.
You'll learn how to form up, pour and finish concrete to a professional standard and then get into the fun stuff — exposed aggregate, honed finishes, techniques that transform a functional surface into a design feature. Understanding concrete will also incorporate understanding how it moves and cracks, so your work stands the test of time.
Tiling & paving
From a perfectly laid limestone pool coping, to a herringbone feature, tiling and paving is where precision makes maximum visual impact. You'll learn how to prepare and level a screed base correctly, then progress to laying, cutting and finishing a wide range of materials including porcelain, marble and limestone. This is one of the most visible indicators of landscaping quality and it's an artform we're fastidious about at Corey Fox Landscaping.
Drainage & irrigation
The best-looking garden will still fail without water management done right. You'll learn how to assess a site's natural drainage, design and install stormwater solutions, then lay irrigation systems that keep plants thriving without wasting water. From ag pipe and pits to automated drip systems and pop-up sprinklers, this is the behind-the-scenes work that separates a garden that lasts from one that doesn't.
Carpentry
Timber brings warmth to any outdoor space, and as a landscaping apprentice you'll develop solid carpentry skills that cover everything from pergolas and decking to raised garden beds, retaining structures and feature fencing. You'll learn how to read plans, work with different timber species and hardware, and build structures that are as structurally sound as they are good looking. Outdoor carpentry has its own unique challenges — weather, movement, load — and you'll learn to account for all of them.
Horticulture
Plants are the living, breathing soul of any landscape — and understanding them deeply is what separates a good landscaper from a great one. You'll build a working knowledge of plant species suited to local conditions, learning how soil type, aspect, climate and water availability influence what will thrive in any given space. From planting and establishing new gardens to fertilising, pruning and ongoing maintenance, horticulture teaches you to think long-term — because a great landscape doesn't just look good on handover day, it gets better with age. Plants are really so much of the art and joy of landscaping, getting creative with combinations and watching how they grow and enhance the space over time.
Horticulture also covers turfing - understanding different lawn options and how to lay it well.
Final Thoughts - carpentry or landscaping apprenticeships
If you've been planning on pursuing a construction / carpentry career after finishing school, that's a great trade to have. But a career in landscaping gives you carpentry and everything else! You're building mastery across an entire suite of skills, learning to build a beautiful environment from the ground up. It's a perfect balance of art and creativity paired with the technical skills of construction that make it such a highly rewarding career.
So if you're a bit creative and not afraid to get your hands dirty - or as the great Peter Fudge once said, 'you can handle the smell of dynamic lifter behind your ears in the morning!' then get in touch and kick start your career with our award-winning and fun-loving team at Corey Fox Landscaping.