VerifiedBricklaying is the trade with the lowest barrier to entry on this list and the widest range of outcomes. The same certificate covers someone laying blockwork on a housing contract and someone doing heritage restoration or face brickwork, and the pay is nothing like the same.
It is also the trade where self-employment is most realistic soonest, which changes what you should be looking for in a training placement.
Where the trade sits
Bricklaying falls under CETA, the construction SETA. CETA funds learnerships and skills programmes, runs a learner portal you can register on directly as well as an engagement portal for employers, and offers the Thapelo Madibeng bursary. It is based at 52 14th Road, Noordwyk, Midrand.
The apprenticeship and trade test route is on our artisan bursaries page.
What to ask a training provider
- Does the programme end in a trade test at an accredited centre, or only in a certificate of attendance? These are not the same thing and only one is a qualification.
- Is there a workplace placement attached? Bricklaying cannot be learned in a classroom, and a provider without site access cannot give you the hours.
- Does it cover setting out and levels, or only laying? The setting-out work is what separates a bricklayer from a labourer.
Bursaries that fund bricklaying
- CETA Thapelo Madibeng bursary
- Thebe Foundation Dr EJ Mabuza Scholarship
- Bridgestone
- Bitou Municipality
- Eastern Cape Department of Education
Municipal schemes fund trades for residents: City of Cape Town, Cape Winelands District Municipality, Ndwedwe Local Municipality.
This trade has the shortest funder list on the site, and that is the honest position rather than a gap in our research. Most bricklayers are trained by an employer on a learnership rather than funded by a bursary, so the CETA learner portal and a direct approach to a building contractor are worth more than a bursary search.
See also our carpentry bursaries, plumbing bursaries and construction bursaries pages.