Few jobs offer you the opportunity to get your hands dirty as much as a plastering apprenticeship. It's one of the most consistent and most necessary in the construction industry. Plasterers can be found both constructing and restoring in all sorts of buildings all over the country. If you're willing to get messy, get stuck in and if you've got a head for heights, then plastering can be a fulfilling and surprisingly creative pursuit.
During your plastering apprenticeship, you would be working with a qualified plasterer who'd be teaching you the best way of making use of your tools and all the other basics of the trade. You could be working on a restoration commission on a classic older building, or a new build like a school or a shopping centre.
You'll need to be a quick learner with excellent hand to eye coordination and a definite sense of detail. You'll also need a lot of enthusiasm - especially towards the end of any project, when you're running behind and have to put in a few late shifts. You'll work both as part of a team and independently, and the skills you have to start with will be developed while you acquire new ones during your apprenticeship.
More and more people are opting for a modern apprenticeship now university places are becoming fewer - while the fees for those places are rising. So that means university is no longer the default path from education into the working world. The government has pledged to give the UK construction industry a kickstart thanks to the 2012 London Olympics. This would create a need for practical workers - and that would include plasterers.
University isn't for everyone, but that's not to say you can't change your mind after your apprenticeship and apply for a place. It could be that with the qualifications you've earned during your apprenticeship you could find it easier to find a place at uni then if you hadn't gained those qualifications.
A plastering apprenticeship will see you working towards a nationally recognised Level 2 qualification. Afterwards, you could go to more specialised training, or you could choose to go straight into work and earn anywhere between 14,000 and 17,000 to start with. Another option would be to join a Guild and become self-employed, at which point you would be responsible for your career progression and - very importantly - your earnings.
During your plastering apprenticeship, you would be working with a qualified plasterer who'd be teaching you the best way of making use of your tools and all the other basics of the trade. You could be working on a restoration commission on a classic older building, or a new build like a school or a shopping centre.
You'll need to be a quick learner with excellent hand to eye coordination and a definite sense of detail. You'll also need a lot of enthusiasm - especially towards the end of any project, when you're running behind and have to put in a few late shifts. You'll work both as part of a team and independently, and the skills you have to start with will be developed while you acquire new ones during your apprenticeship.
More and more people are opting for a modern apprenticeship now university places are becoming fewer - while the fees for those places are rising. So that means university is no longer the default path from education into the working world. The government has pledged to give the UK construction industry a kickstart thanks to the 2012 London Olympics. This would create a need for practical workers - and that would include plasterers.
University isn't for everyone, but that's not to say you can't change your mind after your apprenticeship and apply for a place. It could be that with the qualifications you've earned during your apprenticeship you could find it easier to find a place at uni then if you hadn't gained those qualifications.
A plastering apprenticeship will see you working towards a nationally recognised Level 2 qualification. Afterwards, you could go to more specialised training, or you could choose to go straight into work and earn anywhere between 14,000 and 17,000 to start with. Another option would be to join a Guild and become self-employed, at which point you would be responsible for your career progression and - very importantly - your earnings.
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