COVID-19 Updates: Get all the latest guidance & support surrounding COVID-19 from CONSTRUCT

  • About Us
    • How We Work
    • Secretariat Team
    • CONSTRUCT Council
    • Committees
    • Our Charity Work
  • Membership
    • Concrete Frame Contractors
    • Suppliers
    • Industry Association
    • Academic/ Research Institutions
    • Consultants
    • Clients
    • Membership Benefits
    • Why Choose a Member?
    • Membership Directory
    • Join Now
  • Events
    • CONSTRUCT Day & Awards 2025
  • News
    • Blogs
    • Press Releases
  • Innovation and Advocacy
  • Toolkit
    • Bar Guidance
    • Brexit Guidance
    • Environmental
    • Health and Safety
    • Technical
    • Training & Skills
    • COVID-19
    • Member Project Case Studies
  • Training
    • Concrete Frame Training Forum (CFTF)
    • Funding
    • Qualifications & Cards
    • Apprenticeships
    • Apprenticeship Providers
    • Career Promotion
    • Courses
    • Working in the concrete structures industry
  • Contact
Member Area COVID-19
  • Training
  • Concrete Frame Training Forum (CFTF)
  • Funding
  • Qualifications & Cards
  • Apprenticeships
  • Apprenticeship Providers
    • Groundworks (Level 2)
    • Plant Operative (Level 2)
    • Steel Fixer (Level 2)
    • Formwork (Level 2)
  • Career Promotion
  • Courses
    • Sorted Training Courses
  • Working in the concrete structures industry

Working in the Concrete Structures Industry

Looking to join the construction industry, or specifically the concrete structures industry? 

With a career in construction, you’ll be part of a global industry with loads of exciting and rewarding construction jobs to choose from. Construction accounts for over 2 million jobs in the UK meaning it’s one of the biggest and most diverse sectors in the country. Construction enables you to make your mark on the world, whether by helping to design or build a family’s home, a hospital providing life-saving care or the tallest skyscraper in the world!

About the Concrete Structures Industry

Concrete is the most commonly used construction material on earth. People have been using concrete to create pioneering buildings since Egyptian times. The Romans used it to create such enduring architectural wonders as the Pantheon in Rome.

The properties of concrete make it an extremely versatile building material, flexible when freshly mixed, yet strong and durable once hardened. Concrete frame structures are a very common and reinforced concrete construction is used to build a huge variety of structures, from skyscrapers and roads to bridges and dams. 

As the name suggests, this type of building consists of a frame or skeleton of concrete. Horizontal members of this frame are called beams, and vertical members are called columns. Humans walk on flat planes of concrete called slabs. Of these, the column is the most important, as it is the primary load-carrying element of the building. If you damage a beam or slab in a building, this will affect only one floor, but damage to a column could bring down the entire building The concrete frame rests on foundations, which transfer the forces – from the building and on the building – to the ground. 

Job Roles in the Concrete Structures Industry 

Job Roles within the reinforced concrete frame sector include site based and office based. Site based will include: 

  • Craft operatives in different skill areas
  • Plant and specialist plant operatives
  • Site supervisor
  • Site manager and
  • Project manager 

Each requires specific training, knowledge and skills plus a formal or vocational qualification is often required. You can see the qualifications here.

Office based job roles are varied and include professional roles such as quantity surveyor; materials buyer; cad designer; and estimator all of whom assist with the build process directly. 

Health and safety officers, environmental officers and quality managers help site management teams to deliver and manage the works in line with current legislation; manage risks; keep workers safe and manage the quality of the work/building. 

Plant mechanics are also employed to help maintain the plant and equipment used on site.

Routes into the Sector 

Routes into the sector include via formal apprenticeships; trainee and graduate opportunities. 

Direct employment into an unskilled job role for those with some existing construction experience is also an option and this can lead on to an apprenticeship and/or other formal training. Employers will generally advertise apprenticeship and graduate opportunities for the roles they specifically wish to recruit for. 

An apprenticeship averages at two years in total for level 2 trade occupations or 3 years for advanced and supervisory level 3 qualifications. Higher apprenticeships in management and professional occupations are also becoming more widely available and help with trained career progression whilst offering the same opportunity to earn why you learn. Higher apprenticeship courses can lead to construction related degrees and are an alternative to full time university courses, with the employer paying for the cost of the course. 

A RC Frame Sector apprenticeship cannot be studied as a full time college course and direct employment is required of the apprentice by an employer. This is because learning is undertaken through 80% on site experience and practice and minimum 20% off site college time. Apprenticeship courses also provide training on the functional skill areas of Maths and English and personal learning and thinking skills.

More information

Download our full careers guide here.

Find more information on careers in construction in visit GoConstruct.

There is also information on apprenticeships here.

0844 249 1355
enquiries@construct.org.uk

Explore

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Training & Events
  • News
  • Toolkit

Membership

  • Membership
  • Become a Member
  • Login

Other

  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Compliance
  • Legal Text

Company

CONSTRUCT Concrete Structures Group
The Old Gasworks
43 Progress Road
Leigh on Sea
Essex, SS9 5PR

© CONSTRUCT - Concrete Structures Group 2025
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT