This National Manufacturing Week, we had the opportunity to welcome students from Rowan County high schools into our shop and give them a look at something we believe is incredibly important: there are rewarding, skilled careers available that don’t require a four-year college degree and are in demand.

We were honored to be one of the stops on their manufacturing tour and enjoyed showing students what happens behind the scenes at a custom cabinet shop.

The students came to us with experience and exposure to different areas of the skilled trades, including woodworking, 3D modeling, and masonry. We wanted to build on that experience by showing them how those skills come together in a real-world manufacturing environment.

How Long Does It Really Take to Build a Cabinet?

We also talked about something that can be easy to overlook when you see a finished cabinet: how much work goes into getting there.

A custom cabinet doesn’t appear overnight.

There are measurements to verify, designs to develop, materials to select, components to cut and prepare, doors and drawer boxes to build, pieces to assemble, finish work to complete, and installation to coordinate.

Because every GLR project is made specifically for the space it is going into, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all process.

That means our team has to think critically and pay attention to the smallest details throughout the entire process.

For students, seeing that process firsthand is important. It helps connect what they may be learning in a classroom or shop environment to an actual career where those skills are used every day.

A Career Doesn’t Have to Start With a Bachelor’s Degree

One of the biggest messages we wanted students to take away from their visit is simple:

You don’t need a bachelor’s degree to build a great career.

There is tremendous value in learning a skilled trade.

A career in custom cabinetry can combine woodworking, technology, design, engineering, problem-solving, project planning, precision, and craftsmanship. And just like many professional careers, there are opportunities to continue learning, specialize, take on leadership roles, and build a long-term career.

The path may look different from the traditional four-year college route, but that doesn’t make it less valuable.

In fact, as experienced tradespeople retire and fewer young people enter the skilled trades, these skills are becoming more important—not less.

Keeping the Skilled Trades Alive

At GLR Custom Cabinetry, we believe strongly in keeping skilled trades alive for the next generation.

There is something incredibly rewarding about taking raw materials and turning them into something that will become part of someone’s home for decades.

You can see the work of your hands.

You can solve a problem that didn’t have an obvious solution.

You can learn a skill, get better at it, teach someone else, and eventually pass that knowledge along to the next generation.

That is something worth protecting.

We are grateful to Rowan County Schools for giving students the opportunity to get outside the classroom and see the many career possibilities available to them. And we are especially grateful that GLR Custom Cabinetry could be one of the stops along the way.

The next generation of craftsmen, builders, designers, and manufacturers is already out there. We just need to make sure they know these careers are an option.