Andrew Willis
At Willis Building we cover a range of building disciplines on domestic and commercial work and as such my day to day duties are very varied. This forms part of the appeal of the job. I manage jobs involving brickwork, joinery, plastering, plumbing and electrics to name a few.
The two key areas of work are joinery work and brickwork.
A joiner will build a whole range of things in timber. These could include timber roofs, timber floor joists, fitting kitchens, windows, hanging doors, fitting skirting, windowsills. They may even assemble a timber framed building.
A bricklayer would typically lay bricks, breeze blocks or stone to form walls. On a house build this could be from the concrete footing upwards to the roof level. Some bricklayers will specialise in stone others will do stone and brick. A bricklayer may also get involved with paving and garden walling and laying concrete floors. Some builders will also apply sand and cement render on the outside of buildings although this is getting into a plasterers territory.
The relationships between various trades can be complicated. Some people will pick a trade and always stick to it, working on domestic houses or on building sites. Others may go onto work as a `builder“. There are two main routes into work as a `builder“. These are to train as a joiner or a bricklayer. You may then find yourself running jobs and hiring in other trades to work alongside your work, or stick with your specific trade.
Day to day work can be tiring but interesting. The range of jobs covered depends on if you specialise on a big site or do more varied tasks on smaller projects. The work can be physical with lots of carrying, lifting, digging, mixing and sweeping up! You will work in all weathers from hot sun through summer to freezing mornings in winter. Winter can be cold but 5 - 6 layers, hat, gloves and boots will keep the cold at bay. It sounds unbelievable but if you keep moving you generally stay warm! I like the fresh air even on cold days.
If you are young and know what trade you would like to do the best route is an apprenticeship, with a view to getting practical on the job experience and college theory. This will lead you to a NVQ level 2 then 3. You can get onto a place at building college and have a job.
You may do 1 day a week college and 4 days work or you may do work followed by block release at college. Another way in would be to work as a labourer and learn as you can, however this approach will be slower and you won“t end up with a recognised qualification. The following link will give you some further information from a local college. http://www.lcb.ac.uk/
There is an organisation called BATJIC who annually review wage rates for workers of differing skill levels. A skilled worker it is suggested would earn £9.13/ hour for a 39 hour week with an NVQ level 2. However the figures are a guide and I am not always sure they accurately reflect the real world. The following link however gives a guide. http://www.fmb.org.uk/EasySiteWeb/getresource.axd?AssetID=169642&type=full&servicetype=Attachment
To sum up building can be a demanding but rewarding career. A great sense of satisfaction can be taken from standing back and looking at what you have built. I am always happy to give further advice should you require. Drop us a line at info@willisbuilding.co.uk
A career in the building trade
