PLASTERING
An Apprenticeship is a mixture of work based and college training; you’ll earn money while you learn a trade. All of our Apprenticeships are industry approved to ensure you gain the skills you will need throughout a sustained career. The plastering apprenticeship scheme will qualify you as a professional plasterer as well as giving you the option to gain further industry recognised qualifications. On Site provides all apprentices with personal protective equipment and a tool kit before you get started.
Plastering is a skilled trade which requires up to 3 years of training. A Plasterer will work on anything from new-build housing, commercial developments to major restoration projects. There are two main types of work:
Solid plastering – Applying wet finishes to walls, ceilings etc using hand tools or spraying equipment to level and protect surfaces.
Fibrous plastering – Making ornamental plasterwork, such as cornices and architraves from plaster and short fibres.
A Plasterer will be a practical, hands-on, person who finds enjoyment from creating a great finish to a site.
Responsibilities
Daily tasks can include:
- Speaking with clients to establish their requirements
- Measuring ceilings and walls
- Giving quotes based on resources required to complete work
- Preparing the surface of a wall. This involves removing old plaster and ensuring that all plasterboards are level
- Spreading wet plaster mix onto walls, working from top to bottom
- Scraping the first coat to make a satisfactory base for the second coat
- Applying a third, thinner, final coat
- Maintaining existing plasterwork using specialist hand tools
- Correcting plasterwork
- Applying or removing (skimming) artex from ceilings and walls
- Pebble dashing or applying sand or cement to external walls
Skills
Plasterers need to possess the following skills:
- Excellent hand-eye co-ordination skills
- Practical abilities ā good with your hands and tools
- Upper-body strength
- Physical stamina
- Ability to work to deadlines
- Ability to work in a team
- Good attention to detail
- Interpersonal skills, as you will often have to speak to clients
- Confidence with numbers ā you have to calculate wall, ceiling and floor areas and the volume of materials needed
- Artistic ability (particularly for decorative jobs and fibrous plastering)