8152 — Road construction operatives

What this occupation covers

Road construction operatives construct, repair and maintain roads and lay paving slabs and kerbstones to form pavements and street gutters.

Typical duties

inspects road surfaces for hazards or signs of deterioration, clears mud, weeds and debris from road and spreads grit or salt as required

sets up traffic management systems around work site such as cones, lights and barriers

cuts away broken road surface with pick or pneumatic drill

heats bitumen in bucket, applies it to newly laid asphalt and beats or draws tamper head on asphalt to close joints

spreads bitumen, tar or asphalt and compacts surface using roller

spreads aggregate over road surfaces using shovel, lays markings on road surface and repairs crash barriers

removes damaged paving slabs and kerb stones, lays bedding of sand, concrete or mortar on prepared foundation, lays new slabs or stones and fills joints with mortar

Entry routes and qualifications

No academic qualifications are required. Training is typically provided on-the-job. All sites are required to have a ‘trained operative’ registered with the Street Workers Qualification Register. Trained operatives are required to attend accredited assessment centres. NVQs/SVQs in Highway Maintenance and Road Building are available at levels 1 and 2.

Sponsorship information

Ineligible. Actual duties, sponsor, applicant, salary and any transitional or shortage-list conditions must be checked.

DBS assessment

No code-wide DBS assessment is assigned. Check actual duties, activities, workplace, frequency and jurisdiction. This code does not determine the level of check.

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