Plasterer

A plasterer mixes and applies plaster or cement to walls, ceilings and floors. There are two kinds of plasterer. A solid plasterer applies smooth wet finishes. A fibrous plasterer produces ornamental shapes for cornices, centre roses and panelling.

The Work

As a fibrous plasterer you could be:

• moulding ornamental plasterwork - cornices, centre roses, decorative panelling - out of plaster and short lengths of fibre (which binds the plaster together so that it keeps its shape)


• working from architects’ designs, artists’ drawings or photographs of old plasterwork.

• fixing metal strips to corners to give a straight edge and checking them with spirit level and plumb-line


• for internal walls, filling in the area with plaster, using a trowel and brush to build up the plaster in layers
• for external walls, or floors, filling in the area with cement


• using rollers or spray guns to decorate an external wall with finishes such as pebble-dash or stone effect


• fixing moulded pieces of ornamental plasterwork, which a fibrous plasterer has made, to inside walls


• doing restoration work - removing old plaster and putting on the new.

Conditions

• Work is mostly indoors but you might sometimes work outside.


• You often work at heights on scaffolding or ladders.


• Conditions may be messy, dusty and damp.


• You wear protective gear: a safety helmet, overalls and sometimes gloves, a face mask and safety glasses.


• You travel to different sites and may sometimes have to live away from home.


• Some jobs are temporary.


• You might have to work evenings and weekends.

Getting In

• The normal entry route is by an apprenticeship - by Skillseekers or a Modern Apprenticeship registered with the Scottish Building Apprenticeship Training Council (SBATC).


• You do not always need formal qualifications, but Standard grades in English, Maths and a technological subject are helpful.


• You usually have to take an aptitude test before you can start training.


• A driving licence is useful.
• You must be physically fit, with no allergies or breathing problems.


• From 2010 workers in the construction sector must hold a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent. You must pass a health and safety test to qualify for this scheme.

What Does It Take?

You need to have:

• good hand to eye co-ordination


• practical skills and attention to detail


• artistic skill - particularly for fibrous work


• customer care skills when working in people's homes


• an awareness of health and safety.

• work carefully, neatly and quickly - plaster dries fast


• use maths to calculate materials needed


• work as part of a team.

Training

With on-the-job and off-the-job training, you would work towards a Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) at Level 3 in Plastering (Construction).

Getting On

• With experience you could move on to supervisory work.
• You might become a craft instructor.
• You might become self-employed.

Pay

The figures below are only a guide. Actual pay rates may vary, depending on:

• where you work


• the size of the company or organisation you work for


• the demand for the job.

More Information

Some years ago, plastic was used to make ceiling roses and cornicing, but new fire regulations mean that decorative plasterwork is now back in fashion.

• Around 10% of women make up the UK construction workforce and the industry is encouraging more women to join.
• The construction industry predicts that about 37,000 new entrants a year will be recruited in each of the next 4 years, excluding new entrant trainees.
• In the near future there should be a lot of new construction jobs around Glasgow, related to the preparations for the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

Addresses

The following organisation(s) may be able to provide further information.