A career in the construction industry
If you’re reliable, dependable and willing to take on physical work, labourer positions will be available to you without extensive training prerequisites.
If you enjoy practical work and want a job outdoors, then working on a building site could be for you.
To be a construction operative or site labourer, you will need a good level of fitness. You will need a basic knowledge of building methods and materials. You will also need a good head for heights.
There are no set ent ry requirements to become a construction operative. You may have an advantage if you have some on-site experience. Some employers may ask for GCSEs in subjects like maths and English, or equivalent qualifications.
At the start of a job, you would help to prepare the site, for example putting up site huts, unloading and storing building materials, and setting up ladders and scaffolding.
Once work gets underway, your duties could include:
Ground working
– marking out and digging shallow trenches for foundations and drains.
Form working
– putting up or dismantling the shuttering that holds setting concrete in place.
Steel fixing
– bending and fixing the bars used to reinforce concrete structures.
Steel piling
– fixing steel sheets together to form temporary retaining walls for excavation work.
Concreting
– layering and smoothing concrete for foundations, floors and beams.
Road working
– concreting, laying kerbs, paving and re-surfacing.
You would use various hand, power and machine tools and, with further training, you could operate construction plant equipment, such as dumper trucks or excavators.
Although there are no set entry requirements to become a construction operative, you may have an advantage if you have some on-site experience.
Some employers may ask for GCSEs in subjects like maths and English, or equivalent qualifications.
You may be able to get into this career after completing an Apprenticeship with a building company.
Once you start work, you normally receive on- the- job training, with day or block release at a local college or training provider. You could work towards a qualification like the Level 1/2 (NVQ) in Construction and Civil Engineering Services (Construction Operations).
The Diploma includes options in: concreting, drainage construction, laying kerbs and channels, excavation holes and trenches.
A good level of fitness a basic knowledge of building methods and materials good practical skills the ability to follow written and spoken instructions a good head for heights good teamworking skills an awareness of on-site health and safety issues.