Bricklayer EFZ

About the job

1st year of apprenticeship: CHF 950.–

2nd year of apprenticeship: CHF 1320.–

3rd year of apprenticeship: CHF 1860.–

As a bricklayer EFZ, you build or renovate walls or retaining walls of buildings and civil engineering structures such as bridges. You excavate earth, pile it up and level the ground. You build walls from stone, brick or concrete, lay pipes and channels, and install prefabricated components.

Tasks

• Read construction plans
• Plan work steps with the site management
• Set up and secure construction sites, for example by erecting barriers and warning signs
• Check and store delivered materials
• Create sketches for construction work
• Prepare formwork, for example for foundations, support pillars or walls
• Produce components from mortar
• Insulate and seal buildings
• Dismantle components, for example demolish walls
• Lay pipes, for example for drinking water, wastewater or gas
• Build walls with bricks and mortar and check with a string line and spirit level whether the walls are straight
• Prepare, pour and work concrete by hand or with machines
• Install prefabricated components such as stairs or door and window frames
• Plaster walls and fill joints
• Renovate old or damaged buildings
• Clean up the construction site and dispose of waste properly
• Assign simple construction tasks in your own construction area to other team members
• Record completed construction work in reports and discuss them within the team

Working environment

As a bricklayer EFZ, you work outdoors in all weather conditions, at great heights or in excavations. During work, you wear protective equipment such as a safety helmet, steel-toe boots and gloves. Working hours vary depending on the season; there is usually more work in summer than in winter.

You work in construction companies of all sizes. With the appropriate further training, you can take on responsible positions. The job market is very good.

Requirements and interests

• Manual dexterity
• Freedom from vertigo
• Physical resilience
• Resistance to temperature or weather
• Spatial imagination
• Ability to work in a team
• Willingness to travel frequently
• Working outdoors
• Being physically active
• Working with clay, stone, glass

Training

Practical training in a construction company: 4 days per week

1 day per week at the cantonal vocational schools

72 days over 3 years

3 years

Compulsory schooling completed

With very good school performance, apprentices can additionally attend the vocational baccalaureate school.

Bricklayer EFZ

Further training

Courses

Courses from the Swiss Builders Association (SBV)

Additional apprenticeship

Professional examination

• Construction foreman BP
• Building materials tester BP
• Building protection specialist BP
• Craftsman/woman in monument preservation BP

Advanced professional examination

Advanced technical college

University of applied sciences

• Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering

Different admission requirements apply depending on the university of applied sciences.