Blinn alumnus now training the next generation of skilled carpenters

Instructor Robert Dailey brings more than 10 years of custom furniture and cabinetry experience to Blinn’s Carpentry Program

September 2, 2025

Growing up in the small town of Lovelady, Texas, Robert Dailey vividly remembers the summer he fell in love with carpentry.

“Between my sophomore and junior years in high school, my dad had me work for his best friend, who was a custom home builder. I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. to get to the job site and had no idea what to expect,” Dailey said. “I saw a building come together from nothing and I was hooked. The next summer I went back.”

As an instructor for the Blinn College District’s Carpentry Program, Dailey is excited to watch his students find that same passion for carpentry.

“One of the reasons I started teaching was because this type of opportunity didn’t exist for me when I was 18,” Dailey said. “I love training students in carpentry and teaching them the skills they need to be successful. I get to show my students that carpentry is a broad career path that can range from turning a piece of dirt into a house or going into a beautiful 1880s house that’s falling apart and doing a historically accurate renovation.”

Originally sidetracked from a career in the skilled trades after high school, Dailey enrolled at Blinn, transferred to a four-year university, and jumped into a career that wasn’t the right fit.

“I didn’t like sitting at a desk all day. I liked working with my hands, so I started fixing up old furniture and doing handyman projects again, and my skills grew from there. I went full-time with my own business, Dailey Woodworks, in 2014 and it was wonderful,” he said.

After more than 10 years building his company and completing projects for his clients, Dailey now looks to share his expertise with the next generation and show students that careers in the skilled trades are in demand.

“One of the reasons I decided to come to Blinn was that I love the value that we’re starting to place on education for the skilled trades, because all of my knowledge came from field experience,” Dailey said. “The advantage that people who complete our program are going to have is a foundational knowledge taught in a systematic and correct way.”

Blinn’s Carpentry Program offers a variety of awards designed to prepare students for entry-level carpentry positions, including college credit degree plans that place students on a pathway to higher-wage management positions in the industry. All Blinn carpentry courses follow the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) curriculum developed with the cooperation of more than 125 construction CEOs, trade association officials, and academic leaders.

Through Blinn’s Carpentry Program, students can earn their Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree in carpentry, NCCER Core Construction, Level 1 and 2 certificates in carpentry, and Blinn’s Occupational Skills Award.

“Getting this foundation, this core knowledge of best practices, is going to give you a real leg up in your career,” he said. “As an employer, if you come to me with a Blinn degree, I know I can insert you into a job site not just as a helper but as an actual tradesman to start being a real value to the company. That’s going to be worth more money because you already have the skills to take on more responsibilities. That’s going to very quickly increase your earnings, because employers pay well to keep skilled people around.”

To learn more, visit www.blinn.edu/carpentry.