Bricklayers
Bricklayers erect and repair brick, pre-cut stone and concrete block structures such as walls, paving, chimney stacks and tunnel lining.
- Employees (UK)
- 8k
- Median annual pay
- £32,480
- Exposure score ?
- 0.0/10 Minimal 0.4/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 0.4/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.0/10
- Wage exposure
- £0 £0
Higher exposure than 6% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
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Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
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Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
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Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
-
Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
-
Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Brickmasons and Blockmasons" (47-2021.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 14 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
14 of 14 tasks
Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
Tasks via O*NET "Brickmasons and Blockmasons" (47-2021.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 14 tasks, with tools
Interpret blueprints and drawings to determine specifications and to calculate the materials required.
What still needs a person
13 of 14 tasks
Measure distance from reference points and mark guidelines to lay out work, using plumb bobs and levels.
Construct corners by fastening in plumb position a corner pole or building a corner pyramid of bricks, and filling in between the corners using a line from corner to corner to guide each course, or layer, of brick.
Apply and smooth mortar or other mixture over work surface.
Calculate angles and courses and determine vertical and horizontal alignment of courses.
Break or cut bricks, tiles, or blocks to size, using trowel edge, hammer, or power saw.
Remove excess mortar with trowels and hand tools, and finish mortar joints with jointing tools, for a sealed, uniform appearance.
Fasten or fuse brick or other building material to structure with wire clamps, anchor holes, torch, or cement.
Clean working surface to remove scale, dust, soot, or chips of brick and mortar, using broom, wire brush, or scraper.
Examine brickwork or structure to determine need for repair.
Mix specified amounts of sand, clay, dirt, or mortar powder with water to form refractory mixtures.
Lay and align bricks, blocks, or tiles to build or repair structures or high temperature equipment, such as cupola, kilns, ovens, or furnaces.
Remove burned or damaged brick or mortar, using sledgehammer, crowbar, chipping gun, or chisel.
Spray or spread refractory material over brickwork to protect against deterioration.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Skilled trades occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons