Construction Industry: Jobs Explained
- Architect - Designs new buildings and spaces around them, will oversee the building process from beginning to end.
- Bricklayer - After completing an apprenticeship, bricklayers use a variety of specialist tools to spread and joint mortar and cut bricks or blocks to size when building structures.
- Carpenter & Joiner - Timber is an essential part of just about every structure, and it's the carpenter and joiner's job to prepare it and put it into place. It's a skilled job that utilises special tools, and often involves many different kinds of wood.
- Civil Engineer (Consulting) - Involved in design, development and construction of projects, and also their maintenance. This could include constructing roads, bridges, tunnels and other major construction projects.
- Civil Engineering (Contracting) - Follow on from the work of the consulting civil engineers and put the plans in motion, oversee actual construction.
- Computer Aided Design (CAD) - CAD workers have a passion for computers and use computer generated drawings to prepare the information needed for a construction job. This can involve working across a wide range of fields, including architecture, building services, building, civil and structural engineering.
- Glazier - Glazing is a highly skilled job. It involves cutting glass - as well as other window materials to the right size and fixing them in place. Glaziers need a good knowledge of the right materials for the job, and can work on a wide range of projects, from replacing a broken piece of glass to fitting out a whole office block.
- Logistics Manager - Responsible for overall supply chain management, a Logistics Manager focuses on strategic objectives and ensures that key performance indicators are achieved. As a Logistics Manager you look after the whole transfer of goods or raw materials from suppliers to retail and business outlets and onto customers. Logistics Managers work closely with other professionals such as Purchasing Officers, Warehouse and Transport Managers in order to ensure goods are received at depots on time, are stored correctly and dispatched according to schedules.
- Painter & Decorator - Painters and decorators come on site nearing the end of the build to complete internal and external structures coatings and finishings.
- Plasterer - Plasterers apply wet finishes to walls, ceilings and floors. This is called solid plastering. There's also fibrous plastering, which involves making ornamental plasterwork in a workshop or on site.
- Plumber - A plumber's life is varied. They may work on new buildings, or on the extension or maintenance of existing ones. Installation work includes central heating systems, sanitary systems, drainage systems and guttering. Maintenance work includes routine servicing and emergency repairs. Then there's the repair work, which involves finding faults and repairing them so that everything works as it should. All this needs a range of hand and power tools, which are used for cutting, bending and joining pipes.
- Project Manager - This is a very varied job, and can often begin at the design stage and run right through to the completion of a construction project, but in general, it's the project manager's job to ensure that everything runs smoothly and is completed on time - and on budget! Project managers take overall responsibility for the planning, management, co-ordination and financial control of a project and to keep the client happy.
- Quantity Surveyor - Manages the building costs related to the project, ensuring money spent wisely, and quality not sacrificed.
- Roof Slater & Tiler - Roof slaters and tilers create a waterproof covering for a building by applying individual slates or tiles to a basic timber framework - like the roofs of houses.
- Structural Engineer - Deals with structural analysis and design of concrete and steel structures, it is the implementation of mechanics to the design of structures.
- Town Planner - Town planners oversee the development of an entire town or region. They must understand the needs of a local environment, economy and population and how to make it gel into a pleasant place to live and work. Planning can be very rewarding as it has a major impact on the environment in which everyone lives and works.
