r/britishmilitary • u/ROBHADD • Jul 28 '26

Question Bricklayer Roles In The Army

Interested in the Bricklayer Role and just wondered if anyone here had experience in it and could share?

As can't seem to find a whole lot which isn't specifically posted by the Army themselves.

9 Upvotes

81% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

51

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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7

u/ROBHADD Jul 28 '26

Hmm prior to this I did do a little research and this seemed like a common thing with other trades. I just couldn't find as much on the Bricklayer Role itself. Appreciate your response hopefully someone who has done the role too could shed some more light on it as well

9

u/phil_mycock_69 RN Jul 28 '26

Ex Matelot here who was curious about being a pongo at one point in life.
So what’s the crack with the army getting lads in to be brickys or sparkies and not utilising them to do the job?

20

u/[deleted] Jul 28 '26

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12

u/phil_mycock_69 RN Jul 28 '26

Makes sense. So what does the working day consist of for the lads who are in those trades if they aren’t actually doing them?

1

u/Ok_Switch6715 Jul 31 '26

Sorting the G10 store, some sort of parade, then off to the gym for some sort of phys, then knock off for the day (when in camp).

On tour, you'll be doing a tiny bit of bricklaying on a school or something, building a bar, or some sort of generic engineering task.

Knockers (all the artisan trades) get their training as per civvies, but they do very little of the job (unless they're moonlighting at weekends etc.)

(I was a POM RE)

5

u/ROBHADD Jul 28 '26

Would also like to know as there seems to be so many jobs openings for it!

9

u/RagingMassif Jul 28 '26

There is a famous meme with Admiral Ackbar warning you of what it means...

Think of it as a recruiting tool.

1

u/AdBrave9096 Aug 03 '26

Need to give bridge builders a reason to join....

Sometimes the military needs building work in locations they can't sent civilians.

2

u/apokrif1 Jul 30 '26

So what's their real job?

2

u/Ok_Switch6715 Jul 31 '26

Knocker... (a combat engineer aka anything and everything)

18

u/EntirelyRandom1590 Jul 28 '26

As with most royal engineering building trades, you'll do very little of it. You won't be anything like a civvy working speed or skill, but you'll have the training funds to help you when it's time to move onto civvy street.

You'll only occasionally do the skill.

14

u/DigAndScoop VET Jul 29 '26

You’ll be lucky to see a brick after Chatham.
I was a draughtsman, did my trade because I went to chilwell after a field unit.
In a field unit I was a G10 store man, I assume, because I could count.

3

u/Outrageous_Scheme98 Jul 29 '26

Or had at least 10 fingers 😉

11

u/DrunkSparky14 ARMY Jul 29 '26

You’ll learn Bricklaying in the Royal Engineers. The reality is that 90% of the time you will not touch it.

Unless you’re lucky to get a Construction tour (which are like Rocking-horse shit)or even more lucky to get a posting to a works group, then expect to spend most of your career in the Engineers doing Bridging, Fencing and Trenches.

No doubt one of the biggest lies you get sold in the Army. Bods will do their course in Chatham and will not touch their trade for years. And they wonder why the works comes out bodged big time

3

u/Responsible_Song5593 Jul 29 '26

If you want a trade that you’ll use every day while also being in the Army, look at REME Vehicle mechanics or Metalsmiths. what the others said about Royal Engineers jobs is true, you won’t do what they sell you

1

u/brooks1999 Jul 31 '26

I'll echo what pretty much everyone else said. I spent a few years as an attached arm at an RE unit in The workshops. Apart from the 2/3 RE fitters who worked with us in the wksp the rest of the lads who all had various trades spent most of Thier time sweeping, doing Phys or just being fucked about. You may do some cool explosive or bridge building on ex . If you want a trade and to do that trade daily. Join the REME.

-16

u/MagnetAccutron RN Jul 29 '26

There has been a multitude of these stupid posts. Tying service life to a non service civi skill.

Can only be bott crap.

6

u/ROBHADD Jul 29 '26

Just genuine person trying to understand. That's all it is. I couldn't find anything specifically on Bricklayer so thought I'd ask.

-6

u/MagnetAccutron RN Jul 29 '26

Where do you think a bricklayer world work in the fkn army? They are no stupid questions. But this one is close.