Build an exciting career with a Construction apprenticeship at Newcastle College.
With six distinct apprenticeships, including bricklaying, electrical, joinery and plastering to choose from, you will find a path that's right for you.
Have you ever thought about getting into construction? Are you practical, hands-on and like a challenge? An apprenticeship means that you learn industry skills while earning.
Our Construction apprenticeships match you with an employer who'll show you the ropes and get you ready for an exciting career as a roofer, bricklayer or painter and decorator.
You'll learn from industry-experienced tutors on your days in Newcastle College too, making sure you understand everything you're learning on the job.
Apprenticeship Areas
Bricklayer Apprenticeship
Are you looking for a practical, hands-on and exciting career in an in-demand industry? If so, this Bricklayer apprenticeship could be for you.
Length: 24 months to Gateway
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Carpentry and Joinery Apprenticeship
Do you enjoy learning in a hands-on way? This Carpentry and Joinery course is the perfect introduction to the construction industry and an opportunity to specialise in working with wood.
Length: 27 months
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Rye Hill Campus
Installation Electrician / Maintenance Electrician Advanced Apprenticeship
Do you have a practical and theoretical mind and are looking to get into construction? If so, this Electrical Installation apprenticeship could be for you.
Length: 48 months to Gateway
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Painter and Decorator Apprenticeship
Do you want to brush up your skills and paint a creative and exciting future? If you want to earn while you learn, gain a trade and get into industry, this Painter and Decorator apprenticeship is for you.
Length: 24 months to Gateway
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Plasterer Apprenticeship
If you’re looking to make a smooth start to your career in construction, this Plastering apprenticeship is for you.
Length: 24 months to Gateway
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician Apprenticeship
Do you want to learn a practical and in-demand trade? If so, this Plumbing and Domestic Heating Technician apprenticeship is for you.
Length: 4 years
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Roofer Apprenticeship
If you’re looking to wipe the slate clean or get an insight into this in-demand industry, the Level 2 Roofer apprenticeship could be for you.
Length: 24 months (this does not include EPA period)
Study: Full-Time
Start Date: Various
Location: Employer Based
Take a look at our
Current Apprenticeship Vacancies
We work with employers across the North East to offer you the latest apprenticeship opportunities!
Find out which employers are currently offering apprenticeships and apply for any of our current vacancies to start earning whilst you learn!
View and applyWhat can I do with a Construction qualification?
Bricklayers and Masons
Roofers, Roof Tilers and Slaters
Plumbers and Heating and Ventilating Engineers
Construction and Building Trades n.e.c.
Plasterers
Floorers and Wall Tilers
Painters and Decorators
Construction and Building Trades Supervisors
Glass and Ceramics Makers, Decorators and Finishers
Construction Operatives n.e.c.
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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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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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.
Powered by EMSI
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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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.
Powered by EMSI
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.
Powered by EMSI
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.
Powered by EMSI
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.
Powered by EMSI
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.
Powered by EMSI
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.
Powered by EMSI
What can I do with a Construction qualification?
Bricklayers and Masons
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.
Powered by EMSI
Roofers, Roof Tilers and Slaters
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.
Powered by EMSI
Plumbers and Heating and Ventilating Engineers
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.
Powered by EMSI
Construction and Building Trades n.e.c.
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.
Powered by EMSI
Plasterers
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.
Powered by EMSI
Floorers and Wall Tilers
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.
Powered by EMSI
Painters and Decorators
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.
Powered by EMSI
Construction and Building Trades Supervisors
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.
Powered by EMSI
Glass and Ceramics Makers, Decorators and Finishers
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.
Powered by EMSI
Construction Operatives n.e.c.
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.
Powered by EMSI
Register Your Interest
Are you keen to start an apprenticeship at Newcastle College, but need a little help getting placed? Come along to one of our first stage interview sessions to explore our vacancies, submit an application and get advice about securing your dream job.
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Get in touch to learn more about apprenticeships at Newcastle College.
Apprenticeships - Get that job
Apprenticeships - The benefits of an apprenticeship
Levels Explained
How to ask your employer for training funding