Plasterer
Prepare walls and ceilings for decorating. This means people can live and work in attractive, safe and energy-efficient places.
About the job
A day in the life – Plasterer
What it's like
You'd work in people’s homes and other buildings to prepare the walls and ceilings for decorating and to protect the building from the weather.
You’d apply different kinds of plaster to internal walls and ceilings. You’d cover external walls with coatings, such as sand and cement render or pebble-dash.
You’d calculate how much plaster you need for the size of the job. Once it's mixed and ready to use you’d need to work quickly and accurately by hand.
As part of a small team, you’d work on one of these processes:
solid plastering – applying wet finishes to surfaces and putting protective coverings such as pebble-dashing on external walls
Fibrous plastering – creating ornamental plasterwork, such as ceiling roses, cornices, and architraves, using a mixture of plaster and short fibres shaped with moulds and casts
Dry lining – fixing internal plasterboard or wallboard partitions by fastening them together on a timber or metal frame ready for decorating
You could work on small jobs, repairs and restoration in people’s homes. Other jobs could be at big commercial developments such as schools or hospitals.
Green job       Â
In this job you could be doing work to help the environment. You could:Â Â Â Â Â
use natural, eco-friendly, low carbon plastersÂ
use materials that can be recycled or reused to reduce wasteÂ
Hours
You'd work around 39 hours a week, Monday to Friday, although weekend or evening work may be necessary to meet deadlines.
Environment
As a solid plasterer, you'd work indoors and outdoors – this could be on existing buildings or on building sites. As a fibrous plasterer you'd usually be based in a workshop, but may also make site visits. You'd often work at heights from access platforms or scaffolding. For most jobs, you'd wear protective clothing such as a hard hat, gloves and safety footwear.
Travel
You'd travel from job to job. Many plasterers transport their materials in a van, so a driving licence would be useful.
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Construction and built environment
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- plastering
- construction
- property maintenance
- patchwork
- tiling
- renovation
- microsoft teams
- investments
- power tool operation
- hand tools
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- time management
- concentrating
- attention to detail
- observation
- working with numbers
- problem solving
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Practical Craft Skills
Skills for Work: Construction Craft
Skills for Work: Practical Experiences: Construction and Engineering
You'd need a Modern Apprenticeship registered with the Scottish Building Apprenticeship Training Council (SBATC).
You don't always need formal qualifications to enter this apprenticeship but most employers value a good general education. Some employers may ask for qualifications at SCQF Level 4/5.
Qualifications and experience that show practical skills such as Skills for Work Construction Crafts (SCQF Level 4/5).
A driving licence can be useful.
You usually have to take an aptitude test before you can start training.
You must have a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on site and will need to pass a health and safety test.
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