jobfacts

Steel erector

Steel erectors — SOC 2020 5311

Steel erectors fit and erect structural metal framework for buildings and other structures such as metal chimneys.

Also calledErectorConstructional engineerSteel fabricatorSheeter erectorIronwork erectorGirder erectorand 18 more titles
Typical full-time pay£35,8002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month118↓ 22%on last year · 382nd of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time steel erectors earn, 2025
£35,800 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£35,800
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £35,800
South East!£44,800
South West!£26,700
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £35,800
South East£44,800 (small sample)
South West£26,700 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
Yorkshire and The HumberNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £34,900
  • 2024 £35,900
  • 2025 Provisional£35,800
↑ 2.7% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 118 jobs for steel erectors 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 (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026127
Jul 2026130
Jun 2026128
May 2026115
Apr 2026113
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026109
Jan 2026128
Dec 202551
Nov 2025115
Oct 2025127
Sept 2025149
Aug 2025185
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 2025156
Apr 2025116
Mar 2025115
Feb 2025146
Jan 2025135
Dec 202468
Nov 2024135
Oct 2024195
Sept 2024196
Aug 2024205
Jul 2024232
Jun 2024183
May 2024216
Apr 2024148
Mar 2024121
Feb 2024105
Jan 2024132
Dec 2023108
Nov 202376
Oct 202388
Sept 2023110
Aug 2023148
Jul 2023131
Jun 2023228
May 2023138
Apr 2023131
Mar 2023130
Feb 2023129
Jan 2023154
Dec 202295
Nov 2022116
Oct 2022134
Sept 2022146
Aug 2022181
Jul 2022171
Jun 2022163
May 2022181
Apr 202294
Mar 2022118
Feb 2022100
Jan 2022151
Dec 202193
Nov 2021121
Oct 2021132
Sept 2021142
Aug 2021117
Jul 2021152
Jun 2021170
May 2021163
Apr 2021136
Mar 2021206
Feb 2021107
Jan 2021137
Dec 202090
Nov 2020106
Oct 2020155
Sept 2020132
Aug 2020146
Jul 2020126
Jun 202081
May 202062
Apr 202082
Mar 2020145
Feb 2020141
Jan 2020134
Dec 2019122
Nov 201998
Oct 2019136
Sept 2019178
Aug 2019170
Jul 2019156
Jun 2019143
May 2019155
Apr 201985
Mar 2019107
Feb 2019103
Jan 2019121
Dec 201887
Nov 2018133
Oct 2018156
Sept 2018137
Aug 2018138
Jul 2018141
Jun 2018128
May 2018118
Apr 2018130
Mar 2018124
Feb 2018102
Jan 2018144
Dec 201782
Nov 2017122
Oct 2017171
Sept 2017155
Aug 2017165
Jul 2017173
Jun 2017248
May 2017227
Apr 2017211
Mar 2017212
Feb 2017163
Jan 2017178
Is there a shortage of steel erectors?
Not high

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

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
46%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for construction and building trades, which includes steel erectors. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London54
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole7
Cambridge6
Glasgow City6
Leeds6
Sheffield6
Birmingham5
Bristol, City of5
Cardiff5
Leicester5
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where steel erectors 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
Age of steel erectors
28%!
n/p
43%!
n/p
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2428% (small sample)
25–34Not published
35–4443% (small sample)
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!42%
GCSEs or equivalent!41%
Other qualifications!49%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
A levels or equivalent42% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent41% (small sample)
Other qualifications49% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: construction of residential and non-residential buildings (42%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
Other qualifications
held by 49%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a construction or engineering course at college. This could help you to find a trainee job with a building company.

Courses include:

  • construction skills
  • skills for engineering
  • construction operations
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply for a place on an Engineering Construction Erector Rigger Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship.

This takes around 3 years to complete and is a mix of on-the-job training and off-site study.

Entry requirements

To get onto an apprenticeship, you'll find it useful to have:

  • GCSEs grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, in English and maths

Apply directly

You can apply directly for jobs if you have relevant experience, qualifications and industry safety cards in construction or engineering.

What you’ll need

  • be able to cope with working at height

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on a construction site
Career tips

You'll have an advantage if you've got a powered access licence to work with mobile elevated work platforms.

Further information

You can get more details about working and training as a steel erector from Go Construct and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB).

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

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • examines drawings and specifications to assess job requirements
  • erects ladders, scaffolding or working cage
  • directs hoisting and positioning of girders and other metal parts and checks alignment
  • arranges for or undertakes bolting and welding of metal parts
  • checks alignment of metal parts using spirit level and plumb-rule

Skills

  • align components
  • apply health and safety standards
  • follow health and safety procedures in construction
  • follow safety procedures when working at heights
  • operate handheld riveting equipment
  • prepare pieces for joining
  • use power tools
  • use safety equipment in construction
  • work in a construction team
  • program a CNC controller
  • rig loads
  • tend riveting machine
  • adjust engineering designs
  • apply arc welding techniques

Knowledge

  • rivet types
  • types of metal
  • cutting technologies
  • design drawings
  • engineering principles
  • engineering processes
  • mechanical tools
  • mechanics

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for skilled construction and building trades, a group of 12 jobs that includes steel erectors.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 14,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035374,000including 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.