Whether you’re fixing minor breakages, doing custom work or just getting some fresh furniture designed for your living or workspace, carpenters are needed regularly. However, finding and hiring them in Kenya can be a nightmare. Where and how do you find a competent carpenter who will show up on time, who will show up with the right tools, and who will show up ready to get your job done satisfactorily?
We are here to provide a reliable guide on what to look for when you are hiring a carpenter whether for a domestic or commercial project.
Here are 9 things to consider when hiring a carpenter whether for a domestic or commercial project in Kenya.
Get Recommendations (the duck test)
Have you ever heard of the saying that if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck? The saying is true when it comes to finding and hiring a carpenter in Kenya. Whether for repairs, installations, maintenance, or large projects, ask around from friends, family, and even online communities if anyone knows a good carpenter who could get your job done. It’s a basic starting point especially if you’re new in an area. Whereas recommendations can be erroneous, they can be very reliable if you’re talking to the right people. There are many carpentry works with cross-cutting features. Relying on the recommendation of a project owner similar in any way to yours can go a long way in getting the right carpenter. You can also rely on career identity platforms like FUNDIS that assess artisanal skills, verify skilled trades professionals by talking to customers served, and enable them to digitally show their qualifications, experience, skills training, ratings, and completed projects. It’s like the same word-of-mouth recommendations digitised reliably for your viewing.
Check Portfolios of evidence
For carpenters without profiles on platforms like FUNDIS, you can request to see sample works done in the past. Most carpenters will have smartphones and should be able to show photos of projects they have done. Some carpenters keep traditional photo albums that can serve the same purpose. Be sure to ask them for contacts of the owners of the projects you have viewed in the portfolio so that you can collaborate on what the carpenter says with their past employers before making the final decision. Portfolios of evidence are also helpful in gauging the nature of projects a carpenter has handled in the past. It’s a good pointer into whether they have the right skills to get your job done or not
A carpenter’s availability is key
Like most skilled trades professionals in Kenya, a majority of carpenters are informal day workers. They operate by scouting for available jobs. They could have a job today and the next day they don’t. Before settling on a carpenter, consider whether they took longer to arrive than would be reasonably expected. This could mean that they are possibly on another job already and they intend to multitask that project that they may already be working on alongside yours. In an attempt to get all the jobs done simultaneously, some often get compromised. You want to be sure that you’re not risking yours being the one that ends up compromised.
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Request for a carpenter’s qualifications
While formal qualifications for carpenters exist in Kenya, you cannot always rely on them bait, hook, line, and sinker. Most of the time that we have seen jobs going wrong from an execution-technical perspective, it mostly has nothing to do with the hard skills needed for the job. Be as it may, in our experience, we have noticed from assessing, up-skilling, and enabling the certification of thousands of carpenters that those with a formal TVET education especially the ones who have been awarded qualifications by qualification awarding institutions such as the National Industrial Training Authority (NITA) and the Kenyan National Examination Council (KNEC) have an upper hand in their soft skills. Regulating the construction sector, the National Construction Authority (NCA) is mandated to provide provisional and/or full accreditation for all construction workers in Kenya. If you are a hiring contractor or site supervisor, before hiring a carpenter, ask if they are registered with the NCA. It could make all the difference in your construction project.
Carefully consider the work experience
They say that repetition is the mother of skill. This is true for most technical, vocational, and craft careers and trades. Experience is essential for carpenters at all levels for both domestic and commercial work. Construction tools, equipment, and materials used change with time. Exposure in the carpentry practice can mean the difference between a shoddy job and a job well done. For any detailed job, consider an experience of three (3) years upwards. This is in line with an industrial practice by the National Construction Authority (NCA) that places construction workers who have no technical certificates and have less than two years of experience into an apprenticeship program for not less than a year to acquire the relevant trade skills and knowledge.
Ask for trade affiliations
There are multiple brands involved in Kenya’s fast-growing repairs, installations, maintenance, and construction industry. Three out of five times materials are bought at the hardware shops in Kenya, it is the artisan, builder, or contractor making the purchase. A good way to pick out a growth-minded carpenter is to ask what training, seminar, or workshop they have taken within the last year. Different brands have different product training sessions and issue certificates. This is how new products are launched into the market by initially training their most important constituent- the artisans.
The role of manufacturers, distributors, and spare parts shops
If you have lived or worked in Kenya for some time, then you have probably already heard a famous joke about the artisans that the only good ones we have are the barbers because you can’t leave your head behind for shaving. You have to be there while the shaving is happening and that’s the only reason barbers tend to do a good job. This joke mostly touches on how trustworthy artisans are. This applies to carpenters as well. You need to know a few parts shops and hardware so that you're not swindled on the quality and costs of such parts should you trust carpenters to go and buy on your behalf.
Buy Yourself
Because most artisans are never sure when they will get the next job, they tend to inflate the prices of jobs they are sent to buy parts so that they can capitalise on that one job. This is especially true for on-demand jobs. Most artisans operate on the philosophy that a bird at hand is worth ten in the bush. You can’t trust most carpenters with cash to go and procure parts for you. As soon as they have the cash at hand, for most, that is the last time you will hear from them. If you must send them, ask whether a shop has a pay bill number so that you can pay yourself remotely. Insist on getting a receipt as well although it is highly likely that if you're not present for the purchase, the carpenter will get two different receipts; one receipt with a lower price for himself and another with a higher price for you. The carpenter will then pocket the difference.
Service Warranty
Whereas it is not a common practice in Kenya, it is important to be sure that the carpenter you’re about to engage is willing to come back for the same job at no extra cost should the need arise. When it comes to repairs and maintenance, it takes some time to be sure whether the issue has been fully fixed. Only pay for labour after the job has been done and you’re fully satisfied. Platforms like FUNDIS pay service providers within 24 hours of job completion to allow the customer enough time to observe the job done to provide feedback on whether their jobs have been well done.
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