Bricklaying jobs in Bedford

The opportunity

Altwork is recruiting general builders and bricklayers for an established North West maintenance and construction contractor working on long-term framework contracts with local authorities, schools, healthcare providers and utility companies.

This is an ongoing recruitment campaign. Our client is bringing work that has historically been subcontracted back in-house as permanent, directly employed roles, so we are speaking to good people on a rolling basis rather than filling a single vacancy. If the timing is not quite right for you, it is still worth a conversation.

The work is varied: brickwork and blockwork on refurbishment and extension jobs, structural repairs, making good after other trades, and the general building work that holds a maintenance contract together. If you can turn your hand to more than brickwork alone, you will be busier and better paid for it.

What you will be doing

• Brickwork and blockwork on refurbishment, extension and repair jobs

• Structural repairs, underpinning support works, lintels, openings and making good

• Repointing, rebuilding, chimney works and external masonry repairs

• Groundworks, drainage, paths, hardstanding and external works where required

• Associated general building work — rendering, plastering, patching and finishing

• Working in occupied homes, schools and public buildings with the courtesy and care that requires

• Keeping accurate job records and photographs on a company-provided PDA or mobile device

What you will need

• Essential — Time-served or experienced bricklayer or general builder with a minimum of 2 years’ experience

• Essential — Full UK driving licence (a company van is provided, so this is non-negotiable)

• Essential — Valid CSCS card

• Essential — Positive, can-do attitude, sound problem-solving and pride in your workmanship

• Essential — Able to communicate well with tenants, clients and colleagues at every level

• Highly desirable — Genuine general building capability beyond brickwork alone

• Desirable — NVQ Level 2 or 3 in Trowel Occupations, or an equivalent qualification

• Desirable — Groundworks, drainage or streetworks experience

• Desirable — Social housing, local authority or school maintenance background

This role involves work on school and public-sector sites, so the appointment is subject to a satisfactory enhanced DBS check, references and proof of the right to work in the UK.

What is on offer

• Pay — £16.00 – £18.50 per hour, paid weekly — the top of the band is for genuinely multi-skilled general builders

• Overtime — Every hour beyond 39 in a week is paid at time and a half, and bank holidays worked are paid at time and a half with a day off in lieu

• Bonus — Discretionary performance bonuses, paid in each of the last two years

• Holidays — 20 days plus 8 bank holidays, rising by 2 days at two years’ service and a further day each year thereafter, to a maximum of 25 days

• Vehicle & kit — Company van, fuel card, mobile phone or PDA, uniform and all PPE provided

• Allowances — Mileage allowance and overnight allowance where a job requires them

• Pension — Workplace pension scheme with employer contributions

• Wellbeing — Employee Assistance Programme and Bright Exchange — confidential personal and wellbeing support, plus retail and lifestyle discounts

• Development — Funded tickets and additional trade training where they help you progress

• Progression — A clear route to working site manager — our client promotes from within

Where you will be working

Our client’s work is spread across four boroughs on the M6 and M62 rather than concentrated in one town. Roughly a quarter of the workload sits in the Halton and St Helens boroughs, so applicants living in Widnes, Runcorn, St Helens, Newton-le-Willows, Warrington, Leigh or Skelmersdale are just as well placed as those closer to Wigan.

So you know where you stand before you apply: the first hour of travel to site and the first hour home are in your own time, as is standard across the sector. Any travelling beyond that counts as working time and is paid at your basic rate.

Our client is an equal opportunities employer, committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace, and to creating a culture in which everyone — whatever their background or route into the role — can thrive and fulfil their potential. Altwork recruits on exactly the same basis.

Pay: £16.00-£18.50 per hour

Expected hours: 39.0 per week

Application question(s):

• Which other trades or types of work are you confident taking on?
• What trade qualifications and safety tickets do you hold?
• What is your home postcode or nearest town?

Experience:

• bricklaying or general building : 2 years (required)

Licence/Certification:

• UK driving licence (required)
• CSCS card (required)

Work Location: In person