jobfacts

Road construction operatives

SOC 2020 8152

Road construction operatives construct, repair and maintain roads and lay paving slabs and kerbstones to form pavements and street gutters.

Also calledRoad workerRoad construction operativeHighways operativeConcreterScreederAsphalt spreaderand 58 more titles
Typical full-time pay£38,8002025 Provisional
People in the job13,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month511↓ 13%on last year · 262nd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time road construction operatives earn between £32,100 and £46,500 a year.

What full-time road construction operatives earn, 2025
£38,800 typical£29,900lowest 20%£46,50075%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£32,100–£46,500)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£29,900
25%£32,100
Median£38,800
75%£46,500
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £38,800
South East!£48,900
South West!£44,100
West Midlands!£43,800
Yorkshire and The Humber!£40,500
Wales!£36,100
Scotland!£35,300
North West!£31,500
North EastNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £38,800
South East£48,900 (small sample)
South West£44,100 (small sample)
West Midlands£43,800 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£40,500 (small sample)
Wales£36,100 (small sample)
Scotland£35,300 (small sample)
North West£31,500 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £33,800
  • 2024 £37,700
  • 2025 Provisional£38,800
↑ 15% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 511 jobs for road construction operatives are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026565
Jul 2026686
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026534
Apr 2026475
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026558
Jan 2026448
Dec 2025206
Nov 2025525
Oct 2025520
Sept 2025597
Aug 2025650
Jul 2025666
Jun 2025540
May 2025695
Apr 2025586
Mar 2025918
Feb 2025690
Jan 2025651
Dec 2024314
Nov 2024443
Oct 2024550
Sept 2024608
Aug 2024511
Jul 2024497
Jun 2024529
May 2024531
Apr 2024519
Mar 2024329
Feb 2024332
Jan 2024416
Dec 2023258
Nov 2023304
Oct 2023282
Sept 2023268
Aug 2023382
Jul 2023417
Jun 2023554
May 2023579
Apr 2023462
Mar 2023553
Feb 2023426
Jan 2023537
Dec 2022374
Nov 2022424
Oct 2022455
Sept 2022418
Aug 2022567
Jul 2022527
Jun 2022498
May 2022654
Apr 2022377
Mar 2022551
Feb 2022496
Jan 2022587
Dec 2021451
Nov 2021425
Oct 2021452
Sept 2021459
Aug 2021458
Jul 2021504
Jun 2021516
May 2021501
Apr 2021463
Mar 2021555
Feb 2021434
Jan 2021375
Dec 2020285
Nov 2020365
Oct 2020457
Sept 2020474
Aug 2020375
Jul 2020414
Jun 2020358
May 2020232
Apr 2020237
Mar 2020384
Feb 2020448
Jan 2020360
Dec 2019229
Nov 2019305
Oct 2019314
Sept 2019289
Aug 2019349
Jul 2019382
Jun 2019296
May 2019391
Apr 2019259
Mar 2019268
Feb 2019303
Jan 2019375
Dec 2018162
Nov 2018263
Oct 2018287
Sept 2018310
Aug 2018328
Jul 2018357
Jun 2018326
May 2018331
Apr 2018365
Mar 2018386
Feb 2018369
Jan 2018368
Dec 2017250
Nov 2017321
Oct 2017313
Sept 2017293
Aug 2017350
Jul 2017383
Jun 2017397
May 2017456
Apr 2017487
Mar 2017461
Feb 2017355
Jan 2017275
Is there a shortage of road construction operatives?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsAbove usual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
45%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for construction operatives, which includes road construction operatives. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London142
Birmingham25
Buckinghamshire24
North Yorkshire24
Glasgow City23
Manchester20
West Northamptonshire19
Argyll and Bute19
Somerset18
Sevenoaks17
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where road construction operatives are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of road construction operatives
24%!
n/p
13%!
25%!
22%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2424% (small sample)
25–34Not published
35–4413% (small sample)
45–5425% (small sample)
55–6422% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!35%
GCSEs or equivalent!42%
Other qualifications!16%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent35% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent42% (small sample)
Other qualifications16% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: construction of roads and motorways (55%), construction of residential and non-residential buildings (12%), service activities incidental to land transportation (8.3%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 42%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
15 months to 18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a college course to get some of the skills needed for this job. Courses include:

  • construction skills
  • highways maintenance - excavation operations
  • construction and civil engineering operations
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Road Surfacing Operative, or Highways Maintenance Skilled Operative, Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

These apprenticeships take between a year and 6 months and 2 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Apply directly

You may be able to apply for jobs if you've got experience in other areas of construction, like labouring and groundwork, or from operating plant machinery, like mechanical diggers.

What you’ll need

  • be over 18 years of age
  • have a full driving licence

You may need to join the Street Works Qualifications Register and get a safety card, depending on your job.

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about becoming a road worker from Go Construct.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for road worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • inspects road surfaces for hazards or signs of deterioration, clears mud, weeds and debris from road and spreads grit or salt as required
  • sets up traffic management systems around work site such as cones, lights and barriers
  • cuts away broken road surface with pick or pneumatic drill
  • heats bitumen in bucket, applies it to newly laid asphalt and beats or draws tamper head on asphalt to close joints
  • spreads bitumen, tar or asphalt and compacts surface using roller
  • spreads aggregate over road surfaces using shovel, lays markings on road surface and repairs crash barriers
  • removes damaged paving slabs and kerb stones, lays bedding of sand, concrete or mortar on prepared foundation, lays new slabs or stones and fills joints with mortar

Skills

  • dig soil mechanically
  • follow health and safety procedures in construction
  • guide operation of heavy construction equipment
  • inspect asphalt
  • inspect construction sites
  • inspect construction supplies
  • inspect drainage channels
  • inspect railways visually
  • inspect road signs
  • lay base courses
  • lay pipe installation
  • pave asphalt layers
  • perform drainage work
  • position guardrails and toeboards

Knowledge

  • compaction techniques
  • dredging consoles
  • excavation techniques
  • mechanical tools
  • rail infrastructure
  • road traffic laws
  • work trains
  • asphalt mixes

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for process, plant, machine and construction operatives, a group of 25 jobs that includes road construction operatives.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 142,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035496,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.