Edward Smith

Plasterer

For Edward Smith, getting plastered has become a full-time vocation. The 21-year-old has just finished a City & Guilds Foundation course in Basic Plastering Skills at Lewisham College.

Edward joined the course in September 2004. 'I was signing on,' says Edward. 'I'd heard that there was good money to be made as a plasterer and that lots of them were needed. I also wanted to learn a trade.'

Edward says another reason for choosing plastering was that, unlike other building trades, it wasn't seasonally affected. 'Bricklayers can lose out on a lot of work in the winter time when it's wet. You've got a chance of getting work all year round as a plasterer,' he says. 'Now I've got my certificate it can help me get work with building firms. I'll be taking an exam for my CSCS card soon. Once I've got that I'm allowed to work on any building site.'

Edward says the work is physically tough. He is currently working with a friend from college on a job. 'As a plasterer I make sure that the walls have a nice smooth finish to them. So we mix up the plaster from scratch and apply it to the walls. I also do some painting once the plaster is dry. The last couple of days I've started at 7.30am and finished at about 6.30pm. It's hard work, physically. My body's still aching now!'

But Edward says that even though he can go home from a day's work exhausted, he gets satisfaction from knowing he's done a good job.

Edward says his two day a week course was split between practical and theory. 'I looked forward to the practical,' he says. 'I didn't really like the theory. I didn't finish school and I don't have any qualifications so I was finding it a bit hard - the maths and whatever. I got through it though.'

The plasterer would recommend his course to anyone who wanted to learn a trade. 'You have to stick at it though,' he warns. 'If anyone was interested in building then I'd say "do plastering." Who knows, by the time they've finished their course they could work for me!'

In the next five or 10 years Edward hopes to have his own business. His advice to anyone who can't decide on a career is to decide what you're good at, find an appropriate course and 'give it a go!'

'They'll teach you everything you need,' says Edward. 'Even if it's hard, they'll teach you everything.'