Bricklayer day rate (West Midlands)

PasturesNew

I used to know a British Rail bricklayer, he did a full 3-4 year apprenticeship. One full day at college per week (9am to 6pm) and four days of working. The work was mostly repairing old tunnels and bridges, as well as a bit of station repair work, platform repairs and other maintenance work on other buildings along the line.

That needed "a proper apprenticeship" because you can't let "any loon" loose on a 120 year old railway tunnel and parapet and trust that the next train of 200 people passing through won't get crushed.

But, for the majority of work these days, I bet most just need to know how to build a straight/safe wall of bricks.... few will ever need to build arches, or curves, or work with unusual stonework. "Features" in a building cost extra, so everyday designs don't have "features".

Jackmydad

ajak81 wrote: »

Didn't traditional apprenticeships going back to the beginning of the 20th century used to be 5 to 7 years long?

Yes, I did five and a half years in the early to mid 70s.
And then I was an "improver" for some time until a job came up in another department.
It's the only way to learn a trade properly, if the resulting craftsmen are to have enough practical experience as well as theoretical knowledge, and to know what "craftsmanship" is.
I changed trades after some years, but what I had learned still stood me in good stead.