What's involved?

Concrete flooring operatives are mainly involved in laying concrete floors or fine concrete screed, which can incorporate chemicals or synthetic resins to provide a tough and durable sealed surface.

Skills required

The job is physically demanding so you need to be reasonably fit, as well as being practical and good with your hands so you can operate the specialist machinery.

You need to be co-operative and team-orientated and have good numeracy skills as you will be calculating surface areas and volumes. You also need to be able to read plans, diagrams and information sheets.

Some time may be taken up travelling between different work sites and projects, so a driving licence may be useful.

Qualifications required

There are no formal requirements although GCSE/Standard Grades in Maths, English/Welsh and Technology will be helpful for the calculations, measurements and theory.

(Applications from students with the Foundation/Intermediate Welsh Baccalaureate are also welcomed).

Salary ranges

(This is a guide to the average salary a fully qualified and experienced person might expect to get.)

£21,000 - £25,000

Progression routes

National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) are available in In Situ Flooring:

• Concrete layer Level 2 NVQ
• Concrete Finisher Level 2 NVQ
• Concrete Plant Operator Level 2 NVQ

After a few years' experience, Resin Flooring Operatives often progress towards a supervisory role and an NVQ in Occupational Work Supervision is also available.

More information is available from Association of Concrete Industrial Flooring Contractors at: www.acifc.org/index.asp