Construction operatives n.e.c.
Job holders in this unit group operate insulating equipment, fix plasterboard to ceilings and walls, help construct, maintain, repair and demolish buildings and clean and resurface eroded stonework, lay, join and examine pipe sections for drainage, gas, water or similar piping systems, install lighting systems in roads, domestic and commercial settings and carry out a variety of other construction operative tasks not elsewhere classified in minor group 815: Construction operatives.
- Employees (UK)
- 82k
- Median annual pay
- £30,237
- Exposure score ?
- 0.6/10 Minimal 1.5/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 1.5/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.6/10
- Wage exposure
- £149m £372m
Higher exposure than 32% 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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Install photovoltaic (PV) systems in accordance with codes and standards, using drawings, schematics, and instructions.
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Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations.
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Identify electrical, environmental, and safety hazards associated with photovoltaic (PV) installations.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.
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Diagram layouts and locations for photovoltaic (PV) arrays and equipment, including existing building or site features.
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Determine materials, equipment, and installation sequences necessary to maximize installation efficiency.
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 "Solar Photovoltaic Installers" (47-2231.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 26 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
26 of 26 tasks
Install photovoltaic (PV) systems in accordance with codes and standards, using drawings, schematics, and instructions.
Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations.
Identify electrical, environmental, and safety hazards associated with photovoltaic (PV) installations.
Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.
Assemble solar modules, panels, or support structures, as specified.
Apply weather sealing to array, building, or support mechanisms.
Install module array interconnect wiring, implementing measures to disable arrays during installation.
Install required labels on solar system components and hardware.
Diagram layouts and locations for photovoltaic (PV) arrays and equipment, including existing building or site features.
Determine materials, equipment, and installation sequences necessary to maximize installation efficiency.
Test operating voltages to ensure operation within acceptable limits for power conditioning equipment, such as inverters and controllers.
Determine appropriate sizes, ratings, and locations for all system overcurrent devices, disconnect devices, grounding equipment, and surge suppression equipment.
Activate photovoltaic (PV) systems to verify system functionality and conformity to performance expectations.
Identify and resolve any deficiencies in photovoltaic (PV) system installation or materials.
Visually inspect and test photovoltaic (PV) modules or systems.
Examine designs to determine current requirements for all parts of the photovoltaic (PV) system electrical circuit.
Demonstrate system functionality and performance, including start-up, shut-down, normal operation, and emergency or bypass operations.
Identify methods for laying out, orienting, and mounting modules or arrays to ensure efficient installation, electrical configuration, or system maintenance.
Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment.
Program, adjust, or configure inverters and controls for desired set points and operating modes.
Determine connection interfaces for additional subpanels or for connecting photovoltaic (PV) systems with utility services or other power generation sources.
Determine photovoltaic (PV) system designs or configurations based on factors such as customer needs, expectations, and site conditions.
Select mechanical designs, installation equipment, or installation plans that conform to environmental, architectural, structural, site, and code requirements.
Perform routine photovoltaic (PV) system maintenance on modules, arrays, batteries, power conditioning equipment, safety systems, structural systems, weather sealing, or balance of systems equipment.
Install active solar systems, including solar collectors, concentrators, pumps, or fans.
Compile or maintain records of system operation, performance, and maintenance.
Tasks via O*NET "Solar Photovoltaic Installers" (47-2231.00).
What AI can already do
6 of 26 tasks, with tools
Identify installation locations with proper orientation, area, solar access, or structural integrity for photovoltaic (PV) arrays.
Diagram layouts and locations for photovoltaic (PV) arrays and equipment, including existing building or site features.
Determine materials, equipment, and installation sequences necessary to maximize installation efficiency.
Visually inspect and test photovoltaic (PV) modules or systems.
Determine photovoltaic (PV) system designs or configurations based on factors such as customer needs, expectations, and site conditions.
Compile or maintain records of system operation, performance, and maintenance.
What still needs a person
20 of 26 tasks
Install photovoltaic (PV) systems in accordance with codes and standards, using drawings, schematics, and instructions.
Check electrical installation for proper wiring, polarity, grounding, or integrity of terminations.
Identify electrical, environmental, and safety hazards associated with photovoltaic (PV) installations.
Assemble solar modules, panels, or support structures, as specified.
Apply weather sealing to array, building, or support mechanisms.
Install module array interconnect wiring, implementing measures to disable arrays during installation.
Install required labels on solar system components and hardware.
Test operating voltages to ensure operation within acceptable limits for power conditioning equipment, such as inverters and controllers.
Determine appropriate sizes, ratings, and locations for all system overcurrent devices, disconnect devices, grounding equipment, and surge suppression equipment.
Activate photovoltaic (PV) systems to verify system functionality and conformity to performance expectations.
Identify and resolve any deficiencies in photovoltaic (PV) system installation or materials.
Examine designs to determine current requirements for all parts of the photovoltaic (PV) system electrical circuit.
Demonstrate system functionality and performance, including start-up, shut-down, normal operation, and emergency or bypass operations.
Identify methods for laying out, orienting, and mounting modules or arrays to ensure efficient installation, electrical configuration, or system maintenance.
Measure and analyze system performance and operating parameters to assess operating condition of systems or equipment.
Program, adjust, or configure inverters and controls for desired set points and operating modes.
Determine connection interfaces for additional subpanels or for connecting photovoltaic (PV) systems with utility services or other power generation sources.
Select mechanical designs, installation equipment, or installation plans that conform to environmental, architectural, structural, site, and code requirements.
Perform routine photovoltaic (PV) system maintenance on modules, arrays, batteries, power conditioning equipment, safety systems, structural systems, weather sealing, or balance of systems equipment.
Install active solar systems, including solar collectors, concentrators, pumps, or fans.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Process, plant and machine operatives, 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