Craft Bricklayer

The broad purpose of the occupation is to set out and lay bricks, brick specials, blocks and other materials to construct and repair complex walls and features such as chimneys, battered, angled, radial and decorative masonry work. Craft bricklayers plan and organise the work site, both for themselves and others and verify the quality of the work of others within their team. They are technical experts in their team, providing direction and advice to others and advise on work approach and problem solving. They are responsible for ensuring the masonry element of the construction programme is delivered to specification, time and in a safe and sustainable manner. Craft bricklayers typically work outdoors on construction sites, in most weathers and at height.

In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with their immediate team and the site management team on all masonry aspects of the construction programme including planning, technical expertise and project progress. They often liaise with other construction trades such as site carpenters and roofers who could work for their own organisation or another contractor. As the technical lead for masonry they are also expected to liaise with other construction professionals for example the clerk of works and site engineer and in the case of smaller specialist projects, the client, architect and building control surveyor.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for ensuring the products they and their team create are of a high quality and meet standards, specifications and design plans. They are expected to do this with due regard to all safety aspects involved with working on a construction site, ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of themselves and others at all times. With sustainable construction at the forefront of all projects, it is expected they would give consideration and advise others on the environment and sustainability of materials, waste awareness and recycling.

Typical job titles include, Craft Bricklayer, Foreman Bricklayer, and Senior Bricklayer

You need to be highly motivated and working in the maintenance or construction industry. Your job role and responsibilities should allow you to provide evidence for the knowledge, skills, and behaviours of this apprenticeship standard. DCG assessors will check your job description and advise accordingly. 

You also need a GCSE grade C/4 or above in English and Maths. 

You will undertake a basic skills test in literacy and numeracy.

A commitment to your own learning and performance in a working environment is essential.

Please note ‘In line with the Consumer Act and as articulated in our Student Protection Plan, we reserve the right to close a course, if there are insufficient students to make the course viable’.

Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours

A Craft Bricklayer will know about: 

• Awareness of health, safety, and welfare regulations, standards, and guidance, and their impact on the role of the team and other construction trades. Employer and employee responsibilities. Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (CoSHH). Fire safety. Health and Safety at Work Act. Asbestos awareness. Manual handling. Fire extinguishers. Safety signage. Situational awareness. Slips, trips, and falls. Working in confined spaces. Working at height. Electrical safety. Reporting injuries, diseases, and dangerous occurrences regulations (RIDDOR). Provision and use of work equipment regulations (PUWER). Near miss reporting, signage, and meaning.
• Safety control equipment and safety techniques: Personal protective equipment (PPE), respiratory protective equipment (RPE), and dust suppression.
• Types of incidents: accidents, near misses. Mitigation methods. Incident management techniques.
• Safe systems of work, control measure implementation, and monitoring techniques.
• Environmental management systems and standards. Environmental Protection Act. Surface water management plan. Environmental signage and notices. Types of pollution and control measures: water, noise, air pollution, smells, spills, waste, and disposal of hazardous waste.
• The importance and considerations of the environment: U values, R Values, thermal bridging, airtightness, acoustic performance, and applicable building regulations.
• The principles of building construction: Fire safety, fire stopping, water ingress, masonry defects, concrete defects, timber defects and repair, structural stability including brick ties, gas barriers, retaining walls, mortar additives, and brick specials.
• Transfer levels, methods, and techniques: straight edge and spirit level, optical and laser levels.
• Modern Methods of Construction: Timber frame, steel frame, Insulated Concrete Forms, modular and concrete frames, Cross Laminated Timber Frames.
• The principles of heritage building, considerations, like-for-like wall replacement, and other techniques applicable to the bricklayer.
• Standards and regulations associated with bricklaying activities: British standards, building regulations, warranty provider standards, and new homes quality board.
• Methods of interpreting information from drawings, specifications, the production plan, and producing work instructions, utilizing traditional and digital methods.
• Resource quantity calculation techniques, costing, wastage, and recycling allowance.
• Stock, material stock, and considerations: availability, stock lead times, correct handling to prevent damage, stock value, faulty stock and returns process, stock rotation, and quality control.
• Craft bricklayer tools, safe use, and maintenance techniques: sliding bevels, trammels, squares, straight edges, site protractors, spring dividers, angle rules, scutch, masonry cut-off saws.
• Powertools check, safe use, maintenance, and storage, defect or fault escalation.
• Craft brickwork techniques: basket weave, stack bond, victorian bond, segmental and semi-arches, rough and axed, battered work, tumbling in, brick and block bonded quoins, dog toothing, and dental courses.
• Axed arches and surrounding haunch brickwork: setting out and construction techniques.
• Curved on plan masonry: setting out and construction techniques.
• Sloped (vertical angles on plan) brickwork: setting out and construction techniques.
• Decorative brick features and panels: setting out and construction techniques.
• Herringbone panels and masonry corbelling: setting out and construction techniques.
• Masonry reinforcement and specialist systems: bed joint reinforcement, shelf angle, wind posts, helical bar, and specialist DPC (damp proof course) systems.
• Angled on plan, off-square masonry: setting out and construction techniques.
• Fireplaces and chimney setting out, construction, and materials: hearths, plinths, flue liners, chimney pots.
• Written communication techniques and plain English principles.
• Documentation methods and requirements – digital and paper-based.
• Planning, work scheduling, and time management techniques for self and others.
• Quality assurance requirements.
• Well-being: mental and physical health considerations in self and others and how to access support.
• Inclusion, equity, and diversity in the workplace.

A Craft Bricklayer will be able to: 

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• Comply with health and safety regulations, standards, and guidance.
• Apply environmental and sustainable principles in compliance with regulations, standards, and systems, for example, segregate resources for reuse, recycling, and disposal.
• Implement and monitor safe systems of work and control measures.
• Comply with industry standards, guidance, and tolerances.
• Identify and use safety control equipment including RPE, dust suppression, and PPE.
• Interpret and extract information using paper-based or digital techniques from drawings, specifications, and the production plan to provide work instructions.
• Check, safely use, and store power tools and equipment, for example, drills and mixers. Escalate defects or faults.
• Safely use and maintain tools and masonry cut-off saws.
• Calculate resource and cost quantities from site measurements.
• Set out and build sloped (vertical on plan) angled brickwork, for example, battered work or tumbling in.
• Set out and build off-square horizontal on plan angled masonry work, for example, obtuse or acute angles.
• Set out and build axed arches and surrounding haunch brickwork, for example, segmental or semi.
• Set out and build decorative brick features, for example, brick and block bonded quoins, dog toothing, or dental courses.
• Set out and build curved masonry work, for example, concave or convex.
• Set out and build a decorative panel, for example, basket weave, stack bond, or Victorian weave.
• Construct walls with complex elements, for example, bed joint reinforcement, helical bar, wind posts, support angles, specialist DPC systems, or heritage principles (like-for-like wall replacement).
• Set out and build herringbone panels.
• Set out and build masonry corbelling.
• Apply planning, work scheduling, and time management techniques to identify and agree on production plan targets.
• Apply quality assurance procedures.
• Communicate and report in written form any issues against the production plan and contribute to the solutions.
• Obtain, monitor, and rotate stock and supplies.
• Complete documentation – paper-based or digital. For example, job sheets, time sheets, risk assessments, method statements, equipment service records, handover documents, work sheets, checklists, incident reports, requisition sheets, quality records.
• Transfer levels, using, for example, straight edge & spirit level, optical or laser levels.

Behaviour required.

• Take personal responsibility for their own health and safety.
• Support an inclusive culture.
• Take responsibility for the quality of work and encourage others to work to high standards.
• Collaborate and promote teamwork across disciplines and with external stakeholders.
• Commit to continued professional development (CPD) to maintain and enhance competence in their own area of practice.
• Promote health, safety, environment, and sustainability principles to others

This delivery of this Standard is on a day release model over 18 months. Apprentices are released to the college 1 day a week throughout an academic calendar year. 

An onsite work-based portfolio must be built in the workplace over 18 months, which will only contain evidence related to the Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours of the apprenticeship Standard.

Evidence sources may include:

• workplace documentation and records, for example:
• workplace policies and procedures
• witness statements
• annotated photographs
• video clips 

Work based portfolio sessions and End Point Assessment sessions are planned throughout the apprenticeship.

Functional skills sessions would be additional to any structured timetable as needed. 

Employer mentoring occurs in the workplace with the support and guidance of an assessor. 

You need safety boots and personal protective equipment, safety gloves and overalls, which should be supplied by your employer. 

You will be visited by your allocated assessor at your place of work and discussions with your employer will form supportive evidence of your training achievements as you work towards the gateway for completion.

You will then be assessed at the end of the training programme by completing an End-Point Assessment. This will assess how you can apply the skills, knowledge and behaviours acquired in your apprenticeship through the following three assessments carried out after you have completed the 18-month duration of on-programme learning: 

• Knowledge test – assessed by an End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO), this test will consist of multiple-choice questions on a computer-based platform. 
• Skills test – assessed an Independent End-Point Assessor, this assessment will assess skills, knowledge and behaviours acquired throughout the apprenticeship.
• Oral questioning – assessed by an Independent End-Point Assessor following the skills test, to confirm your understanding and to obtain further evidence of knowledge.

Completing this apprenticeship standard will pave the way to employment and typical job titles include Craft Bricklayer, Foreman Bricklayer, and Senior Bricklayer

You can also progress to Level 4 supervisory, management or professional and technical courses and qualifications.

For more information contact Derby College on 0800 0280289 or enquiries@derby-college.ac.uk

There is no cost to the apprentice for an apprenticeship. If you are a smaller employer, you are eligible for government funding which will pay between 95% and 100% of the apprentice training costs. If you are a large employer, you can use your levy to pay for your apprenticeship training.