UK AI Exposure · Skilled trades occupations
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 genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still genuinely hard for AI to do. Physical presence, bodily skill, high-context judgment, direct human care - the things that don't translate to text.
If you're in this role, here's what to do now
You're not in the firing line today. But the frontier moves. Build enough AI fluency now that you can direct it for the parts of your work that could benefit. People in unexposed roles who understand AI become unusually valuable inside their organisations.
Where a project with Alex usually starts for this role
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgment, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where we start — flip the toggle to 'With tools' to see what AI plus the right context can compress.
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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.
Most roles have at least three wedges where AI plus the right tools removes real time. For this role the labelling doesn't surface obvious ones, so we'd start with the highest-stakes tasks below and figure out 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 wedges like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days. Talk to Alex about a project →
The full task breakdown
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can already do unaided versus what still needs a human. Importance is O*NET's 1–5 rating of how central each task is to the role.
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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.
Where humans still hold the line
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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Methodology
This role's exposure score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 GPT task labels, aggregated by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 via ISCO-08 (ONS Vol 2 coding index) and US SOC 2010 (BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional. ASHE covers employees only, so self-employed workers are not counted.
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