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The Concreter
The Concreter
Concreters are responsible for giving a new home its solid foundations and creating spaces around the home to enjoy.
A good concreter needs strength and a commitment to physical fitness. They require an aptitude for precision work and an ability to think in three dimensions to create structures that last a lifetime.
Meet the concreter: Lizzie Eaton
Concreter Lizzie Eaton was pleasantly surprised by how physically demanding the role could be when she started out. ‘I have always loved health, fitness and the outdoors,’ Lizzie says. ‘When I chose concreting as a trade, I didn’t realise that it was like doing a workout all day and getting paid for it. To me this was a win/win!’
‘When I first decided on concreting it was a very simple choice,’ she says. Keen to fast-track her construction career, she could choose between that and being a bricklayer to start her apprenticeship right away.
Lizzie was inspired by a fellow female tradie to pave a new path for women into the industry. ‘Another amazing woman, who is now a great friend, was already one of the first female bricklayers in Western Australia,’ she explains. ‘Considering there were no girls working as concreters that I knew of, I wanted to be the first … hoping to inspire others to do as I did.’
She couldn’t be more happy with her gig. ‘A career as a female tradie is amazing,’ she says. ‘When I started, we were few and far between. Now more and more young girls are choosing a trade and developing skills for a lifetime right out of school and I think it’s fantastic,’ she adds.
‘There is no limit to what girls can do these days,’ she says. ‘Don’t be afraid to get involved and find a trade you love like I did. It can lead to many avenues once completed and the world is your oyster!’
Lizzie’s top four tips
Stay hydrated.
It’s crucial to stay healthy on the job.
Ignore the haters.
There will always be someone saying you should be doing a more “girly” job.
Make time for self-care.
A physical job can take it out of you.
Always tell other tradie ladies they are doing a great job.
You never know how their day has been.
Concreters in Australia: key statistics
Employed
37,500Median age
34Female share
3%What a concreter does
Sets up concrete formwork and installs steel reinforcement.
Pours, spreads, and levels concrete using screeds and templates.
Compacts, smooths, shapes, and seals the surface of concrete.
Operates trowelling machines to float, trowel, and polish concrete.
Creates expansion joints and edges with edging tools, jointers, and straight edges.
Installs components in concrete, such as anchor bolts, steel plates, and door sills.
Moistens concrete and rubs with abrasives to finish vertical surfaces.
Covers concrete with plastic sheeting and sand for curing.
Cuts grooves in concrete with power cutters.
How to get qualified
There are several different roles in concreting and each has its own entry pathway. It is possible to start out as a concreting labourer with no formal qualification. You gain experience undertaking basic tasks, assisting a qualified and experienced concreter. Gaining the skills to undertake more advanced concreting work is likely to require formal training and experience. An appropriate qualification is a prerequisite for occupational licensing in some jurisdictions.
A Certificate III in Concreting (typically undertaken as an apprenticeship) is a good starting point for a concreter working in an on-site environment. Concreting work also requires construction of the formwork which holds the wet concrete in place while it cures. Some carpenters specialise in the construction of concrete formwork; the Certificate III in Carpentry is the pathway for this.
