At a glance

  • Soldier
  • engineering

Fixing bomb-damaged buildings, building runways... In the Army, bricklaying is an important job. With worldwide travel and fantastic training, you’ll be set for life.

  • £25,200The minimum amount you’ll earn during training
  • £25,200Your pay after completing basic trade training
  • AgeFrom 16 years & 6 months to 35 years & 6 months
  • QualificationsGCSEs or equivalent
Army bricklayers

In training we covered so many subjects, including reinforced concreting and dead shoring, as well as civilian skills, such as decorative brickwork and cappings.

A bricklayer? In the Army? It might not be the first role you think of, but in fact, bricklayers are vital to our team. They build bridges, make buildings safe, create runways for aircraft and much, much more. It’s highly skilled work so we offer first-class training, which you can use in the civilian world. This covers everything from scaffolding to block laying. Once you’re a qualified bricklayer and concreter, you can take other qualifications and improve your Maths and English. With sports, travel, Adventurous Training and good mates around you, it’s an experience you’ll never forget.
Bricklayer is a Trade role in the Royal Engineers. All the Royal Engineer soldier job roles are divided into 5 groups. When you apply to the Engineers, you will apply to the trade group rather than the specific trade. More about types of roles in the Royal Engineers.

The Corps of Royal Engineers allows the Army to work all over the world, whether it's involved in active combat or disaster relief. The Corps are ‘first in’, setting up bases ready for the rest of the Army to arrive and ‘last out’, closing down patrol bases and military camps. The Corps is at the forefront in disaster-relief operations, effecting rapid repairs to damaged infrastructure in stricken areas.

Apply now

Key Responsibilities

  • Learn general construction

  • Get trained in scaffolding

  • Become expert in concreting

  • Master block laying

  • Get a grounding in task planning

Have any questions? Talk with us

bricklayer and concreter

Regular (full time)

Entry requirements

  • Age:

    From 16 years & 6 months to 35 years & 6 months

  • Qualifications:

    GCSE Grade A–D/9-3, or Scottish National 4, in Maths, English Language and one other subject.

  • Basic physical fitness assessment:

    • Mid Thigh Pull 50kg

    • Medicine Ball Throw 3m

    • MSFT (beep test) level 7.5

    More information about the fitness test

Training for the role

Step 1
Your initial military training teaches you how to be a soldier, covering everything from fieldcraft to how to handle a rifle.

  • If you join as a Junior Soldier (under 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do the military training course at Harrogate.

  • If you join as a Regular Soldier (over 17 years and 6 months), you’ll do the adult basic training.

Step 2
You head to the Royal School of Military Engineering Regiment near Camberley, Surrey, for 12 weeks. Here, you learn military engineering skills, such as knots and lashings, demolition, mine warfare and bridge building. Then it’s 33 weeks’ technical training at the Royal School of Engineering in Chatham, Kent, learning about brickwork, scaffolding and concreting.

Qualifications you could get after training

  • Level 2 and 3 Diplomas in Bricklaying and Concreting (Military Engineering)

  • Level 2 Apprenticeship (NVQ Technical Certificate and Functional Skills) in Construction Building (EdExcel)

Pay & benefits

You'll earn £25,200 a year from the start of your training, which will go up as you progress throughout your career.

How to Apply

Once your online application has been approved, you'll meet with a local recruiter. This is your chance to tell us about the role that you're interested in. When you go to the Assessment Centre, you'll take tests - the results will show whether you'd be suitable for this role, or should consider a different role.

More about the joining process

Related Roles

Plasterer and Painter
Royal Engineers

Plasterer and Painter

Train in painting and plastering. Then work on the Army’s biggest building projects, all round the world. Get a trade, qualifications and an exciting lifestyle.

Carpenter and Joiner
Royal Engineers

Carpenter and Joiner

Become a highly skilled Carpenter and Joiner. Build skills and qualifications that can set you up for life, while enjoying travel, sports and challenges.

Electrician - Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers

Electrician - Royal Engineers

Army Electricians are fully qualified and work all over the world. Join us and you'll be trained to tackle any project anywhere.