Bricklayer

Career summary

A Day in the Life

Most bricklayers in South Africa work outdoors on building sites, alongside labourers and under a foreman. This is a typical site day.

1. Arrive and read the plan — Sign in and put on boots, a hard hat and gloves. The foreman shows you today's walls on the building plans: how long, how high, which bricks, and where the doors and windows go.

2. Set out the wall — Mark where the wall starts and ends. Stretch a string line between the corners so every row of bricks runs dead straight. Get this wrong and the whole wall is wrong.

3. Mix the mortar — Cement, sand and water are mixed to the right recipe. Too much water or too little cement, and the wall will be weak. Wet cement irritates skin, so gloves stay on.

4. Build the corners first — Corners are built first, then the wall fills in between them. You check each row with a spirit level to make sure it is flat and upright. A good corner makes the rest of the wall easy.

5. Lay row after row — Spread mortar, place the brick, tap it down, scrape off the extra. Then do it again, hundreds of times.

6. Up on the scaffold — As the wall gets taller, you work from scaffolding. You build steel mesh (brickforce) into the joints where the plans show it, including above windows and doors, so the wall does not crack later.

7. Clean down and check — Finish the joints neatly, clean mortar off face bricks before it sets, and check the wall once more. Face brick is not plastered, so every mistake stays visible. Then wash your tools and report progress.

8. See what you built — A wall you build can stand for many years. Later you can drive past a house or school and say: I built that.

Choose this career if…

• You are physically tough
• You are steady with your hands
• You are careful with detail
• You do not mind getting dirty
• You are okay with heights or tight spaces
• You are comfortable with numbers
• You push through when it gets hard

Qualification

1. Occupational Certificate: Bricklayer (through an apprenticeship, learnership or other workplace programme), ending in a trade test

   Main route. Learn at a college and on site with an employer, then write the trade test. Twenty public TVET colleges list it for 2026. SAQA's last date for new enrolments is 30 December 2026. Ask the college for its own application deadline, which may be earlier. Learnerships can also lead there.

   Regulated under Skills Development Act 97 of 1998, s26D (trade test; s26D(2)(a) learnership, (b) apprenticeship and (d) any other learning programme with prescribed work experience give access to it) s1 (definitions: a 'learnership' includes an apprenticeship) and s17 (learnership agreements), as amended (amending Acts: 9 of 1999, 31 of 2003, 37 of 2008, 26 of 2010, 26 of 2011 and 4 of 2014); Trade Test Regulations, 2014 · Trade Test Regulations, 2014: GN R.376, Government Gazette 38758, 8 May 2015, in effect from 1 April 2015. Listed trade '641201 Bricklayer': GN 691 (issued under s26B), Government Gazette 35625, 31 August 2012 · (2015)

   SAQA ID 93627 · NQF 4 · 361 credits

2. Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning (ARPL), ending in a trade test

   For adults 19 or older with at least three years of provable bricklaying experience. You are assessed; if you score under 50%, you do gap training first. Then comes the trade test.

   Regulated under Skills Development Act 97 of 1998, s26D(2)(c). The age and experience rules come from the Criteria and Guidelines for the Implementation of Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning (clauses 9.2–9.4). These are guidelines issued under s26D and s36(1)(a), not regulations. · GN 228, Government Gazette 40691, 17 March 2017 · (2017)

Salary

Then it grows

1. Qualified bricklayer after passing the trade test through ARPL, BIBC agreed minimum (Cape Town area, BIBC Area A)

   R244 000

   Once you pass the trade test, your employer can ask the Council to register you as an Artisan; the Council hourly minimum × 40 hours × 52 weeks; BIBC Area A; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

2. Artisan Production: Bricklayer, bottom of the Grade A–C range (public service), after ARPL

   R253 000

   Trade test certificate and a driver's licence. The advert asks for a certificate under the older Manpower Training Act (Red Seal) and does not say whether a QCTO trade certificate, which this route gives you, is accepted. It does not say which grade you start on. The advert gives the figure 'per annum' and does not say whether it is basic salary

3. Artisan Production: Bricklayer, bottom of the Grade A–C range (public service)

   R253 000

   Trade test certificate and a driver's licence. The advert asks for a certificate under the older Manpower Training Act (Red Seal) and does not say whether a QCTO trade certificate, which this route gives you, is accepted. It does not say which grade you start on. The advert gives the figure 'per annum' and does not say whether it is basic salary

4. Qualified bricklayer, BIBC agreed minimum (Paarl, Stellenbosch, Wellington, Malmesbury and Overstrand)

   R274 000

   Passed the trade test, or completed the credits that qualify you as an artisan, and registered as an Artisan with the Council; the Council hourly minimum × 45 hours × 52 weeks; BIBC Areas B, C and D, where the ordinary week is 45 hours; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

5. Qualified bricklayer, BIBC agreed minimum (Cape Town area, BIBC Area A)

   R244 000

   Passed the trade test, or completed the credits that qualify you as an artisan, and registered as an Artisan with the Council; the Council hourly minimum × 40 hours × 52 weeks; BIBC Area A; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

6. Apprentice, 75–99% of credits done (BIBC 'Apprenticeship Year 3', Cape Town area, BIBC Area A)

   R184 000

   BIBC defines this band by credits, not calendar years: an apprentice who has completed 75%–99% of the credits for the trade (clause 5B). Worked out as the Council hourly minimum × 40 hours × 52 weeks (40 hours is the agreement's week for 'all other employees'; it does not list apprentices separately); BIBC Area A only; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

7. Apprentice, 55–74% of credits done (BIBC 'Apprenticeship Year 2', Cape Town area, BIBC Area A)

   R123 000

   BIBC defines this band by credits, not calendar years: an apprentice who has completed 55%–74% of the credits for the trade (clause 5B). Worked out as the Council hourly minimum × 40 hours × 52 weeks (40 hours is the agreement's week for 'all other employees'; it does not list apprentices separately); BIBC Area A only; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

8. Apprentice, under 55% of credits done (BIBC 'Apprenticeship Year 1', Cape Town area, BIBC Area A)

   R86 000

   BIBC defines this band by credits, not calendar years: an apprentice who has completed less than 55% of the credits for the trade (clause 5B). Worked out as the Council hourly minimum × 40 hours × 52 weeks (40 hours is the agreement's week for 'all other employees'; it does not list apprentices separately); BIBC Area A only; rates apply until 31 October 2026. The agreement refers to a basic-wage increase each 1 November (clause 18(7)); the table from 1 November 2026 was not yet published when checked

Building Industry Bargaining Council (Cape of Good Hope) Main Collective Agreement 2025–2028, clause 17(1) artisan registration and clause 18(2) wage table — basic salary before allowances.DPSA Public Service Vacancy Circular 22 of 2026, Annexure C (Correctional Services), POST 22/18 Artisan Production Grade A, B & C (Bricklayer), Mangaung — as advertised by employers.Building Industry Bargaining Council (Cape of Good Hope) Main Collective Agreement 2025–2028, clause 5 ('Bricklayer'), clause 18(2) wage table and clause 19 hours — basic salary before allowances.Building Industry Bargaining Council (Cape of Good Hope) Main Collective Agreement 2025–2028, clause 5B (apprentice definitions), clause 18(2) wage table and clause 19 hours — basic salary before allowances.

Matric Requirements

Pass type you need

• Occupational Certificate: Bricklayer (through an apprenticeship, learnership or other workplace programme), ending in a trade test: Matric not required
• Artisan Recognition of Prior Learning (ARPL), ending in a trade test: Matric not required

Mathematics or Maths Literacy?

Best School Subjects

Practical Requirements

• Trade test after ARPLRequirement

  Wanting the artisan qualification through ARPL. The law says you must pass a trade test to get an artisan qualification, and lets you write it once an accredited trade test centre certifies that you have enough prior learning in the trade. ARPL only gives you access to the trade test, not the qualification itself. The ARPL guidelines say that if your assessment shows gaps (a score under 50%), you do extra training first. Then you write the same trade test as everyone else.

  Required by law · Skills Development Act 97 of 1998, s26D(1) and s26D(2)(c)

• Trade test (two working days)Requirement

  Wanting the artisan qualification for the listed trade Bricklayer. Unless regulations grant an exemption, the law says you must pass a trade test at an accredited trade test centre to get an artisan qualification. At the end of your training you write the trade test at an accredited trade test centre. The qualification says the written and practical parts together take two working days.

  Required by law · Skills Development Act 97 of 1998, s26D; Trade Test Regulations (GN R.376, GG 38758, 8 May 2015)

• Apprenticeship workplace learning (140 credits)Apprenticeship

  Choosing to qualify as a bricklayer (artisan) through the Occupational Certificate: Bricklayer (SAQA 93627). This qualification includes 140 credits of workplace experience. An accredited training provider teaches theory and practical skills. The employer gives you real work on site. The workplace part is done in one of three areas: walls above ground, foundations below ground, or paving and other structures. Each covers planning the work, laying bricks, and finishing.

Career Ladder

1. Labourer / General Worker · No qualification needed
2. Apprentice Bricklayer · Studying the Occupational Certificate: Bricklayer with an employer
3. Qualified Bricklayer (Artisan) · Trade certificate (through the Occupational Certificate: Bricklayer at NQF 4, or through ARPL)
4. Construction Foreman / Site Supervisor · Usually a trade certificate plus years of site experience
5. Own bricklaying or building business · Experience and business skills. To build new homes, the business must register with the NHBRC (Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998, s10(1))