Construction operative

You’d work as part of a team on a building site to construct a building or structure safely and efficiently.

You’d use different building methods and work with a variety of materials. You’d use hand, power and machine tools, following health and safety rules, to complete the different processes involved in a construction project.

At the start of a project you’d help to prepare the site. For example, you would:

• put up site huts

• unload and store building materials

• set up ladders and scaffolding

Once work starts, you could do a variety of tasks including:

• groundworking – mark out and dig shallow trenches for foundations and drains

• formworking – put up or dismantle the shuttering that holds concrete in place while it’s setting

• steel fixing– bend and fix the bars used to reinforce concrete structures

• steel piling – fix steel sheets together to form temporary retaining walls for excavation work

• concreting – layer and smooth concrete for foundations, floors and beams

• road working –pour concrete and lay kerbs, paving and re-surfacing

With further training, you could operate construction plant equipment, such as dumper trucks or excavators.

• GoConstruct - Construction careers website from the Construction Industry Training Board

• Construction Skills Certification Scheme – Learn more about CSCS cards

• GreenJobs - Find built environment job vacancies