You could take a college course in construction skills or construction operations.

Courses like these may help you when applying for jobs.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

You could apply to do a Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship with a construction firm. 

Apprenticeship examples include:

• groundworker
• construction plant operative
• piling attendant
• road surfacing operative

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

You can apply directly for jobs. There are no set requirements but it may help if you have:

• construction site experience
• knowledge of building materials
• experience in a builder's merchants or yard

You may need your own safety boots, hard hat and hi-viz top, though some employers will supply these.

You'll need:

• knowledge of building and construction
• the ability to work well with your hands
• the ability to work well with others
• knowledge of public safety and security
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to operate and control equipment
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• physical fitness and endurance
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

Some jobs involve operating plant machinery, like excavators or dumper trucks. To do this, you'll need to be 18 or over and have a driving licence.

As a construction labourer, you could:

• mark out and dig trenches for foundations and drains
• put up formwork panels to hold setting concrete in place
• fix steel bars to reinforce concrete structures
• build retaining walls with panels to allow excavations - steel piling
• lay concrete for foundations, floors and beams
• build or resurface roads, and lay kerbs and paving
• use machinery to lift and move building materials around a site
• keep tradespeople supplied with bricks, mortar and timber

You could work on a construction site.

Your working environment may be at height and outdoors in all weathers.

You may need to wear protective clothing.