Builder's Labourer
What the work is
Performs routine tasks in preparing, erecting and repairing structures and facilities on building and construction sites, and in factories producing prefabricated building components.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Assists with the preparation of building sites, including clearing debris and setting up barricades and scaffolding
- Carries and lifts materials and tools to and from work areas and around building sites
- Operates hand and power tools, such as drills, saws and hammers, to assist with the assembly and installation of prefabricated or structural building components
- Cleans building and construction sites, and maintains tools and equipment
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a residential building site where an old house is being renovated and a new extension is going up. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- The slab is poured and finished, and everyone stands back to look at a perfectly flat surface
- A site that is clean and tidy at the end of the day because you cleared it as you went
- A tradie tells the foreman that having you on the crew makes their job easier
Hard days
- A hot day carrying materials up a ramp for hours with little shade
- Work that looks routine until someone cuts a corner and the site becomes dangerous
- Being the newest on site, and being sent for everything
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 821132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.