Are you searching for professional plastering courses?

If you are working on site with plastering company and you want to get a degree or diploma to add to your resume; then professional plastering courses are the best option. I agree that trying to go back to studying after working for a living can be very difficult. But there are a lot of options available as part time plastering courses for almost all novice plasterers.

Study options for plastering courses-
1. Full time study- You can prepare for a full time course by joining plastering courses right after high school. You will need to take electives like math, construction drawing and woodworking to prepare your skills for professional plastering courses, as most of the work requires handiwork skills.
2. Online courses- There are several plastering courses online where you will be taught the theoretical aspects of plastering. But be advised that most employers prefer to see on-site experience rather than theoretical knowledge.
3. Part time study- for most working plasterers this works out the best. You can continue with an apprenticeship at the company you are working with at present and still get an educational diploma which adds value to your work experience. There are several part time courses which you can find in your own locality with the help of the internet.
Fees and scholarships for plastering courses-
As such there are no scholarships available for plastering courses but you can try your luck with search engines. But a much better option is to ask your employer to fund a part of plastering courses while you are working for them as a professional plasterer. That works out better for the both of you in the long run. You might be expected to sign on for a longer contract period to help your employer recover his investment but think of it as a long time permanent job rather than a disadvantage.

What are the hours and working conditions?
Most of the times plastering jobs run on tight deadlines! You will have to work at least 40 hours a week all through the week with Sundays off. But again it depends on how fast the work needs to be completed. You might need to work indoors on indoor residential renovations or even outdoors in cold draughty buildings. If you are a fiber plasterer you will have to work in large workshops building the moulds and castings that different design jobs need. You will also have to visit sites to make sure that the moldings and castings you make are accurate and fit according to the architects design. If the job demands it you will also have to work on high scaffoldings attaching ceilings and cornices to the walls and ceiling. Freelancers may have long periods of time when they are out of work or are on call. The job also involves traveling to far off locations to build buildings which take several months to complete.

Plastering courses can prepare you for all these requirements if you work hard.

Learning about plastering through plastering courses!

Plastering courses are a dime a dozen on the internet. But how do you choose the perfect course for your needs? Are there any specific criteria the employers look for while going through resumes for plasterers? Let find out!

Plasterers are an integral part of the construction industry. They are responsible for covering external and internal constructions surfaces with a thick and water resistant coat of plaster. But the main problem with plaster is that it sets very fast. Plasterers have to learn to judge accurately exactly how to mix the material and how. The material once mixed has to be applied surfaces in a limited period of time or it simple sets like marble. As you must have realized by now, plasterers require a whole lot of technical experience along with pure skill. And that’s what plastering courses can teach you.

Requirements-
 When you are working with a wet and plastic material like plaster, speed and accuracy becomes essential. You will have to have basic skills in wet working and how to use tools like the trowel and the hawk. The process looks easy but it’s not as easy as it seems. Most professional plastering courses have practical sessions where you learn how to mix and use the material and apply it with the necessary equipment.
 There are special techniques like beading, plastering etc which are explained in theoretical classes and then demonstrated in practical sessions. You may need to get additional hands on experience which will be judged by assessors. Short plastering courses of only one to six weeks are not enough to get the experience required in handling the material.
 Choose plastering courses which are atleast six to seven weeks long as that’s the only way you get the best out of it. At the end of the course you should be getting National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and or the Intermediate Construction Award (ICA) for having finished the course. The NVQ is however not really assessed till you enter your workplace so you get trained in the course and learn the basics. The ICA is really great if you get it and is a tremendous plus point in your resume.
 Your chosen plastering courses should teach you the basics in health and safety at the workplace as this contributes to a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card. Every employer requires that you be aware of workplace safety and if you have the card ready then it instantly readies you for a job at a construction site.
 Additional skills in decorating and plastering become very necessary, as you get skilled in your job. Plastering courses which teach additional tweaks like plasterwork decorating are great and you should try them out.
 After you have sufficient experience, you have to register with the Construction Skills Register (CSR) where you are kept on the books for future jobs. As you progress with your skills then you also simultaneously progress through the accreditation levels of NVQ level 2 and 3. Eventually you are assigned a Skills Card and then a Craft Card

Make sure you check for all these requirements before you choose any of the plastering courses which are there on the internet or in your locality and you should do fine.

Plastering courses: a good career option?

Are you contemplating a career change is these shaky financial times? Or are you just wondering whether having a professional qualification in plastering may get you a more secure job? Well working as a plasterer is a great option for anyone who has the time to take up plastering courses.

Plastering courses will teach you to handle and work with plaster which is used to cover internal and external surfaces of almost every type of construction. Most employers are not that particular about what type of plastering courses you may have done. But they are meticulous about your on-site experience. If you are already working as an apprentice plasterer with a construction company, then taking up professional plastering courses makes you a better option to be hired anywhere. You will have the experience as well as the professional degree or diploma to back you up.

What do plastering courses teach?
Plaster sets very fast. Plasterers have to learn how to manipulate the material with the required tools to create a durable and permanent coat on the walls that they are covering. And that takes a lot of practical skill. Online plastering courses are fine but they cannot teach you how the material handles, how to mix the material with the proper water content for optimum strength, its setting time manipulation and mixing and how to adjust water content to change the amount of time required for the material to set. This requires a lot of practical experience and you will get it only with hands on training. Try to choose plastering courses which offer an apprenticeship program with the diploma.

Are there any specific government-approved plastering courses which I can choose?
Not really. But almost all plastering courses are designed to get you the maximum amount of practical experience with the material. You can start preparing for your plastering career in high school by short listing plastering courses which are close by and offer the appropriate hands-on experience. You might have to take up optional classed in mathematics, general shop technique, math and construction drawing to get the best out of your plastering courses.

Are there any special skills I would need before enrolling in plastering courses?
Plastering courses involve extensive work to be done by hand and it requires a lot of manual and technical skills. A few more skills which may be required are
 Extensive technical knowledge about the material and the surfaces you will be working on
 The skill of working with fast setting materials
 Basic computation in math to understand and calculate the surface area to be covered in plaster and the material quality which will be required for it.
 Be able to work constructively in a team of workers and take orders from a superior
 Be relatively fit, as most of the work requires a large amount of hard physical exertion.
 Have a little physical dexterity to manage graceful designs which may have to be sculpted in plaster
 Be aware of health and safety issues