"When I started as a carpenter I thought I had wasted my time studying"

When Joel Vilarrasa (Sant Joan les Fonts, 1997) finished high school, he did the same as many other young people of his generation: study at university. For years he had felt that this was the natural path for any student who achieved good academic results, while vocational training courses were often relegated to a second option. He studied industrial engineering at the University of Girona and, once graduated, joined an engineering office in Olot. But the routine of an office job didn't quite convince him. "It was a very good work environment, but I missed a more physical, more manual and more varied job," he explains. The decision to leave and join the family carpentry business was his. "My father had always told me to study. Then I would decide what I wanted to do."

Vilarrasa had grown up surrounded by the business his parents started more than twenty years ago and had worked there during the summers. Nevertheless, it wasn't until he was 24 that he decided to truly learn the trade. Today he assures that he does not regret it. "If I hadn't tried it, I would have regretted it forever." Continuing the family business involves responsibility, but also the satisfaction of preserving knowledge that he considers valuable. "It is a pride to be able to inherit a trade and knowledge that I would regret seeing lost."

A new look at trades

For Vilarrasa, the problem isn't having promoted university studies, but having neglected manual labor for too long. "More than overvaluing careers, we have undervalued trades," he summarizes. He recalls that professors, families, and even many professionals conveyed the same message: "If you can study, don't be a carpenter or a bricklayer." He also assures that this prejudice is beginning to change, but asks not to fall into the opposite error now. "Just because there are no carpenters doesn't mean we'll get rich," he warns. In fact, he also recalls a phrase his father repeated to him before he joined the workshop: "You will be rich in knowledge, but not in money."

Today's carpentry, however, is not the same as his father knew. Now it coexists with numerical control machinery, digital design, and social networks, where Vilarrasa shares the day-to-day life of the workshop through the profile @soc_fuster, on both Instagram and TikTok. Nevertheless, he argues that the essence remains intact: transforming a plank of wood into a piece of furniture or a door continues to be a craft. "You are not just an installer; you create," he summarizes.

Despite advocating for trades, he does not encourage any young person to follow his path. He considers passion to be necessary, because learning a profession like carpentry requires years of experience, mistakes, and many hours of dedication. He also calls for training centers to incorporate more active professionals. "Whoever teaches a trade should have lived it. Books are important, but carpentry is learned in the workshop." A reflection that, ultimately, goes beyond woodworking and challenges an entire generation that grew up convinced that success only came through university.