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Arts & crafts

Stonemason Green Job

Stonemasons carve and shape stone blocks, and lay and fit stonework on construction, conservation and restoration projects.

Annual Salary

£22,000 to £35,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

42 to 45 a week

You could work: between 8am and 6pm;

1.1%
Future employment

There will be 1.1% fewer Stonemason jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a stonemason, you'll work with materials like sandstone, limestone, slate, marble and granite.

On a job, you could:

  • carve, dress and polish stone blocks in a workshop, using hand and power tools
  • build walls and lay paved flooring and paths following design plans
  • repair damaged stonework on old buildings and monuments
  • carve or repair architectural features, statues and memorial headstones
  • make and fit stonework like window frames, archways and ornamental garden pieces

Working environment

You may need to wear safety clothing and use safety equipment.

You could work on a construction site, at a client's home or in a workshop.

Your working environment may be at height, dusty, noisy and physically demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • a college course
  • an apprenticeship
  • working towards this role
College

You could take a college course, which would teach you some of the skills needed to get a trainee job with a building company.

Courses include:

  • construction skills
  • craft masonry
  • stonemasonry

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Stonemason Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

This apprenticeship has pathways for different types of stonemasonry work, for example:

  • interior stone fixing, often used for floors, wet rooms and kitchens
  • memorial stonemasonry
  • exterior stone fixing on buildings and structures
  • heritage stonemasonry for conserving historic monuments

This apprenticeship takes about 24 months to complete and is a mix of workplace learning and off-site study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Work

You could start as a construction labourer or bricklayer and take further training with your employer to get a qualification in stonemasonry.

More information

Career tips

You can do specialist training courses if you're interested in heritage and conservation skills in stonemasonry.

Further information

You'll find more information about careers in stonemasonry from Go Construct and the Stone Federation.

You can also get details about stonemasonry carving skills from the Crafts Council.

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With experience, you could become a site supervisor or specialise in heritage conservation.

You could also move into related areas like:estimating; construction management; skills training at a further education college or training centre

In time, you might set up your own stonemasonry business.

You'll find more on careers in stonemasonry from Go Construct and the Stone Federation.

How does this job help to address the impacts of climate change and protect wildlife and nature in the West of England?

Stonemasons are needed to work on sustainable and low carbon building and construction projects in the West of England.

Examples of post-16 courses you could study at local schools or colleges

  • Level 1 Construction Skills at SGS College

Click here to find a local provider

Apprenticeships you may be able to take with local employers

  • Level 2 Stonemason

Click here to search for a local apprenticeship

For more information on the different routes you can take to get into working as a stonemason, take a look at the 'Routes into this job' section above. 

Click here for an explanation of the different course and apprenticeship levels.

Local employers 

  • Local building contractors
  • Conservation projects

For more local employment opportunities see the 'Live job vacancies by region' section above.

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Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • knowledge of building and construction
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • knowledge of maths
  • design skills and knowledge
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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