Also known as
- Cement Finisher Apprentice
- Cement Mason
- Concrete Mason
- Precast Concrete Finisher
Your duties | Work conditions | Essential Skills | Apprenticeship | Certification | Where to study | Salary ranges | Building your career | Job prospects
Do you like to work with tools and equipment? Are you strong and physically fit? Do you like precise work? Do you like working with your hands? Then Concrete Finisher could be the career for you!
What the work is like
Concrete finishers smooth and finish freshly poured concrete, apply curing or surface treatments and install, maintain and restore various masonry structures such as floors, ceilings, sidewalks, roads and patios.
Most are employed by construction companies, concrete contractors and manufacturers. Some concrete finishers are self-employed, contracting their services for smaller projects such as patios, sidewalks and driveways.
Concrete finishers work in all four construction sectors: New Home Building and Renovation, Heavy Industrial, Institutional and Commercial, and Civil Engineering. To learn more about the construction sectors, check out Inside the industry.
Your duties
As a Concrete Finisher, your duties may include the following:
- levelling the top surface of freshly poured concrete on floors, walls, ceilings or sidewalks
- operating a power vibrator to compress concrete
- applying hardening and sealing compounds to cure the surface of concrete
- waterproofing, damp-proofing and restoring concrete surfaces
- installing anchor bolts, steel plates and other fixtures in freshly poured concrete
Work conditions
As a Concrete Finisher, your work hours are weather-dependent. There is less work available in the winter, and summer hours are often longer than the standard 40-hour week. Overtime is often required because concrete finishers cannot leave a project in the middle and return to it the next day. The number of additional hours you work each week depends on the construction sector and region you work in, and will vary from one job to the next.
As a Concrete Finisher, you may work indoors or outdoors, usually with a team of other construction professionals. The work is often fast-paced and strenuous – you may have to lift heavy materials and spend long periods of time bending and kneeling.
As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is the top priority. Concrete finishers are trained to work safely and wear special equipment to protect themselves from injury.
Essential Skills
Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) has identified nine Essential Skills that are necessary to succeed in the workplace. These skills provide the foundation for learning all other skills and apply to most construction careers. Best of all, you can learn and improve on these skills in school, on the job and during your everyday life.
The most important Essential Skills for concrete finishers are the following:
- Document Use – reading and interpreting documents to extract information
- Numeracy – working with numbers to perform calculations
- Problem Solving – coming up with solutions to challenges
- Decision Making – making a choice among options
Click here to see how these skills are applied on the job. You can also click here to learn more about Essential Skills.
Apprenticeship
Apprenticeship is one way of starting out in the construction industry. It involves both classroom studies and on-the-job training under the supervision of a certified Concrete Finisher, called a journeyperson.
As an apprentice, you earn while you learn and are paid by the hour while working on the job site. Wages start at about 60% of a journeyperson’s hourly rate and increase during your apprenticeship until you reach the full rate.
Entering an apprenticeship program
Requirements for concrete finisher apprenticeship programs vary across Canada. In most provinces and territories, you must be at least 16 years old and have a Grade 10 education or equivalent to enter the program. You may find it helpful to have courses in math, science and drafting.
Some provinces and territories offer secondary school apprenticeship programs that allow high school students to work towards a career as a Concrete Finisher.
For more information, check out the Apprenticeship section.
Program length
Apprenticeship training programs for concrete finishers vary across Canada, but generally involve three 12-month periods, including at least 3,600 hours of on-the-job training, two four-week blocks of technical training and a final certificate exam.
Related work experience or completion of a concrete finisher program at a college or technical institute can reduce the time required to complete your apprenticeship.
Certification
Certification is required in Quebec and is available but voluntary in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan. Where certification is not available, it may be possible to study as an apprentice through your local labour organization. Check out Related links to find out who to contact. Even where certification is voluntary, it is still recommended. Certification tells employers and other workers that you are a skilled professional. It also helps you get jobs.
To be certified as a Concrete Finisher, you usually need to complete a three-year apprenticeship program. Once you successfully complete the required on-the-job training, technical training and exams, you are awarded a journeyperson certificate.
You may be eligible for certification in some provinces and territories if you have more than four years of on-the-job experience and some high school, college or industry courses in concrete finishing.
As a certified Concrete Finisher, you may attempt the Interprovincial Exam to qualify for the Interprovincial Standards’ Red Seal. With a Red Seal, you can work as a Concrete Finisher anywhere in Canada.
To keep your skills current, you have to keep up with new technological developments by reading and talking with other concrete finishers.
Where to study in Canada
In addition to the Canadian schools listed below, many employer and labour organizations also offer training. For more information, check out Related links.
Alberta
Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Maskwachees Cultural College
British Columbia
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Quebec
Centre de formation des métiers de l’acier
Specialty programs
In addition to the schools listed above, NorQuest College offers a transitional program for new Canadians with experience as concrete finishers.
Salary ranges
Concrete Finisher hourly wages vary depending on the contract, the company, collective agreements, and local and national economic conditions. Typical hourly wage ranges for concrete finishers (based on national or regional averages) are as follows:
Junior apprentices
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$12-$17 |
Based on national averages, junior apprentices can earn annual salaries ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 per year, not including overtime.
Journeypersons
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$17-$23 |
Based on national averages, journeypersons can earn annual salaries ranging from $35,000 to $48,000 per year, not including overtime.
Highly experienced journeypersons
| Region | Typical hourly rate |
|
National average |
$23-$30 |
Based on national averages, highly experienced journeypersons can earn annual salaries ranging from $48,000 to $62,000 per year, not including overtime.
Construction work can involve overtime, so your total annual salary will vary depending on the number of overtime hours you work.
In addition to the hourly rate, many construction workers receive statutory holiday and vacation pay. Depending on the contract, you may also receive benefits such as group insurance for health, dental, and vision care, as well as retirement packages and training benefits up to 30% of your hourly rate. If you are self-employed, it is up to you to arrange your own benefits.
Building your career
With experience you can progress to supervisory positions. You can also become self-employed and start your own concrete finishing business.
As with most careers in the construction industry, your skills are portable. If you want to move, you can take your skills with you.
Job prospects
Construction careers across Canada are booming! To learn about the forecast for concrete finishers, check out Job prospects. There you’ll find information on their expected demand by province for the next nine years.
The Construction Sector Council accepts no responsibility or liability connected with the use or reproduction of the information contained on this website. It is provided “as is” and is intended for informational use only without warranty, express or implied.
