Road Worker
What is the work like?
As a road worker or highways operative, you would build and repair roads in towns, cities and rural areas. You could also work on the country's motorway networks. Your duties would include:
- road building, widening and re-surfacing
- repairing potholes and cracks
- laying pavements and kerbs
- maintaining roadside verges and central reservations
- painting road markings
- putting up crash barriers, road signs, traffic lights and street lamps
- digging access trenches for cable and pipe laying
- gritting roads and clearing snow in winter.
You would do some of the work by hand, using picks and shovels. For heavier jobs, you would operate power tools and plant machinery, for example pneumatic drills, 360-degree excavators and road rollers.
Working safely is very important, and you would be responsible for setting up warning signs and cones, as well as managing traffic and pedestrians close to the work site.
What qualifications and experience will employers look for?
You do not need any specific qualifications to be a road worker, but employers may want you to have some on-site experience. If you have not worked in construction before, you could get this experience by finding work as a construction operative (labourer). Once you are working, your employer may be willing to offer you further training.
You may be able to get into this job through an Apprenticeship scheme with a construction firm. To be eligible for a scheme, you may need GCSEs in subjects like maths, English and design and technology, or equivalent qualifications.
The range of Apprenticeships available in your area will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. For more information on Apprenticeships, visit www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
As an alternative, you could take a college course before looking for work, that would give you some of the skills needed for the job. Courses include:
- City & Guilds (6217) Basic Skills in Construction
- BTEC First Diploma in Construction
- Intermediate Construction Award (Highways Maintenance and Operations)
You will need to be 18 or over and have a driving licence to work with plant machinery. You may also need an LGV licence for some jobs. See the job profile for Construction Plant Operator for more information about this area of work.
For more general information about construction careers and qualifications, visit the ConstructionSkills website.
What further training and development can I do?
Once in work, you would be given on-the-job training with day or block release at a local college or training provider. You would usually work towards one of several NVQs, which would allow you to fully qualify as a road worker, including:
- Roadbuilding (Construction) levels 1 and 2
- Highways Maintenance Level 2
- Construction Operations Level 2
- Construction and Civil Engineering Services (Road Building) levels 1 and 2.
These NVQs contain options in excavation, re-surfacing, drainage, laying kerbs and pavement construction. See ConstructionSkills for details of colleges and training providers offering these qualifications.
If you drive gritters and snowploughs for the Highways Agency or a local authority, you could take the City & Guilds Winter Maintenance Operations award (course code 6159).
All roadworks must have at least one fully qualified worker present on site. You can apply to the Street Works Qualifications Register to get a card, which would show you are qualified to do the job safely. To register, you must have completed one of the following Street Works Training courses:
- City & Guilds (6156) award in Streetworks, Excavation and Reinstatement
- SQA national award in Excavation and Reinstatement
- CABWI award in Street Works Excavation and Reinstatement.
Contact the Street Works Qualifications Register for details about how to apply for a card and information on your nearest assessment centre.
Where can I go for more information?
SQAThe Optima Building
58 Robertson Street
Glasgow
G2 8DQ
Tel: 0845 270 2720
King's Lynn
Norfolk
PE31 6RH
Tel: 01485 577577
If you would like to discuss your career options with a learning adviser, call 0800 100 900 or use our online enquiry form
Alternatively, you can visit our website at: www.direct.gov.uk/careersadvice
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What salary and other benefits can I expect?
- New road workers can earn between £12,000 to £14,500 a year.
- With experience, this can rise to around £18,000 a year.
- Road workers with supervisory duties can earn up to £24,000 a year.
Overtime and shiftwork can increase these amounts.
Figures are intended as a guideline only.
What are the hours and working conditions?
You would normally work around 37 hours a week, often starting early. You may be expected to work overtime, including evenings, nights and weekends, in order to minimise disruption to traffic.
You would be expected to work in all weather conditions and the work can be noisy, dirty and physically demanding. Your employer would provide you with protective equipment and clothing like ear protectors, a hard hat and safety boots on all jobs.
You could be travelling from site to site, which would mean working away from home sometimes.
What skills and knowledge will I need?
- good fitness levels
- practical skills
- the ability to follow written and spoken instructions
- good teamworking skills
- a willingness to work flexibly when required
- an awareness of health and safety.
What opportunities are there?
You could find work with civil engineering companies, construction firms, utility companies or local authorities. Jobs are advertised in the local press and through Jobcentre Plus.
With experience and qualifications, you could become a road works team supervisor, known as a 'ganger', or train for work on specialised plant machinery. If you take a higher-level qualification like a BTEC HNC or HND, you could qualify as a quantity surveyor, specialising in highways.
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