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Learning a trade means learning skills for life. Here at Newcastle College, we offer a wide range of full-time construction courses and apprenticeships. Whether you are interested in bricklaying, plastering, roofing, slating and tiling, painting and decorating, plumbing or carpentry, we have a course for you. 

You will learn your trade in our specialist construction facilities, from experienced tradesmen and industry partners. With most of our courses, you'll also be able to gain your CSCS card, which allows you to work on building sites.

Construction involves the whole building process, from planning, to building services, to becoming a craftsman. Our wide range of courses focus on developing practical sought-after skills required in the industry and our strong links with employers help you get the hands-on experience you need to make a seamless transition into employment.

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November Open Event

Rye Hill Campus Wednesday 6th November 2024 4:45pm - 7:00pm Find out more

Take a closer look at our courses

What can I do with a qualification in Construction?

Daily tasks:

  • Levels, aligns and embeds stone in mortar and faces brick, concrete or steel frame with stone to make and repair structures.
  • Uses hand and power tools to shape, trim, carve, cut letters in and polish stone.
  • Spreads mortar on foundations and bricks, and places, levels and aligns bricks in mortar bed.
  • Marks and cuts stone using hammers, mallet and hand or pneumatic chisels.
  • Examines drawings, photographs and specifications to determine job requirements.

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Median Salary

£26,494 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Seals edges of roof with mortar and ensures that joints are watertight.
  • Lays, aligns and secures successive overlapping layers of roofing material.
  • Lays and secures underfelt and covers with hot bitumen or other adhesive compound.
  • Cuts wooden battens, felt and underfelt to required size.
  • Measures roof or exterior wall and calculates required amounts of underfelt, tiles, slates or thatching material.

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Median Salary

£24,498 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Repairs burst pipes and mechanical and combustion faults and replaces faulty taps, washers, valves, etc.
  • Attaches fittings and joins piping by welding, soldering, cementing, fusing, screwing or other methods.
  • Tests completed installation for leaks and makes any necessary adjustments.
  • Installs fittings such as storage tanks, cookers, baths, toilets, taps and valves, refrigerators, boilers, radiators and fires.
  • Measures and cuts required lengths of copper, lead, steel, iron, aluminium or plastic using hand or machine tools.
  • Examines drawings and specifications to determine layout of system.

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Median Salary

£30,573 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Checks and puts on diving suit and equipment and descends underwater to carry out construction, maintenance and repair tasks on sites such as oil rigs, harbours, bridges etc.
  • Erects and repairs fencing.
  • Maintains and repairs steeples, industrial chimneys and other high structures, and installs and replaces lightning conductors.
  • Installs plumbing fixtures, woodwork structures and fittings, and sets glass in frames.
  • Pours and levels concrete, prepares surfaces for painting and plastering, and mixes and applies plaster and paint.
  • Lays bricks, tiles and building blocks to construct, repair and decorate buildings.
  • Selects, measures and cuts steel bars, rods and wire to required lengths, positions and fixes reinforcements into position and tensions as required using hydraulic jacks.

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Median Salary

£25,031 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Checks surface level using line, spirit level and straight edge.
  • Covers and seals joints between boards and finishes surface.
  • Measures, cuts, installs and secures plaster board and/or ornamental plasterwork to walls and ceilings.
  • Pours liquid plaster into mould to cast ornamental plaster work.
  • Applies and smoothes one or more coats of plaster and produces a finished surface, using hand tools or mechanical spray.
  • Mixes, or directs the mixing of, plaster to desired consistency.

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Median Salary

£27,456 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Mixes cement screed or other adhesive, cuts and positions floor and wall tiles and checks alignment of tiling with spirit level.
  • Finishes covering by rolling, smoothing, grouting or polishing.
  • Examines premises to plan suitable layout and cuts, lays and secures underlay, carpet and linoleum.
  • Cleans floor surface, fixes wooden laying guides and mixes, pours and levels granite and terrazzo mixtures, bitumen, synthetic resin or other composition mixtures to form flooring.
  • Examines drawings and specifications to determine job requirements.

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Median Salary

£24,499 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Stains, waxes and french polishes wood surfaces by hand.
  • Mixes adhesive or removes self-adhesive backing and positions covering material on wall, matching up patterns where appropriate and removing wrinkles and air bubbles by hand or brush.
  • Applies primer, undercoat and finishing coat(s) using brush, roller, or spray equipment.
  • Prepares surfaces by cleaning, sanding and filling cracks and holes with appropriate filler.
  • Erects working platform or scaffolding up to five metres in height.

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Median Salary

£23,103 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Reports as required to managerial staff on work-related matters.
  • Determines or recommends staffing and other needs to meet productivity requirements.
  • Liaises with managers and contractors to resolve operational problems.
  • Establishes and monitors work schedules to meet productivity requirements.
  • Directly supervises and coordinates the activities of construction and building workers and/or subcontractors.

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Median Salary

£33,787 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Applies decorative designs and finishes to glassware, optical glass and ceramic goods by grinding, smoothing, polishing, cutting, etching, dipping, painting or transferring patterns or labels.
  • Cuts and joins unfired stoneware pipes to form junctions and gullies, moulds sealing bands on clay pipes, prepares and joins porcelain or earthenware components and assists crucible makers and stone workers with their tasks.
  • Throws, casts and presses clay by hand or machine to form pottery, stoneware or refractory goods such as bricks, crucibles, ornaments, sanitary furnishings, saggars, cups, saucers, plates and roofing tiles.
  • Makes models and moulds from moulding clay and plaster for use in the making and casting of pottery and other ceramic goods.
  • Makes artificial eyes, laminated glass sheets or blocks, glass fibre tissue, wool, filament and matting, marks optical lenses and assembles rimless spectacles.
  • Uses hand tools and operates machinery to heat, bend, shape, press, drill and cut glass.

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Median Salary

£23,495 View more

Daily tasks:

  • Tests joints with electronic test equipment or by filling piping with water, smoke or compressed air.
  • Joints pipe by sealing with rubber, cement, lead, etc., connects piping to manholes and attaches pipe junctions as required.
  • Selects appropriate asbestos, clay, concrete, plastic or metal pipe sections and lowers them into prepared trenches using hoisting equipment.
  • Cuts, shapes and fits wood, lays bricks and tiles, cleans exterior surfaces of buildings and resurfaces eroded stone or brickwork, and performs other tasks in the construction, alteration, repair and demolition of buildings.
  • Selects appropriate plasterboard or dry lining panels, cuts them to required size and fixes them to ceilings and walls.
  • Fills machine with insulating mixture, positions hose, drills access hole and fills cavities or coats surfaces to prevent loss or absorption of heat and provide fire protection.

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Median Salary

£23,573 View more

What can I do with a qualification in Construction?

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Newcastle College Student Services 6

November Open Event

Rye Hill Campus
Wednesday 6th November 2024
4:45pm - 7:00pm

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Newcastle College Student Services 6

Newcastle College University Centre Open Event

Rye Hill Campus
Tuesday 19th November 2024
4:30pm - 7:00pm

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Newcastle College Student Services 6

December Open Event

Rye Hill Campus
Wednesday 4th December 2024
4:45pm - 7:00pm

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