Become a bricklayer

A bricklayer builds masonry and casts concrete — facades and backing walls, foundations and plinths, chimneys, stairs, tiles and render. You work with brick, blocks, mortar and concrete, and you watch your work rise out of the ground over the course of the day. It is a physical trade with precision in it: plumb, level, line and diagonal measurements have to be right, and a neat, regular course of brickwork is something to be proud of.

Because building, renovation and maintenance happen everywhere — and masonry lasts for generations. The trade combines routine and thinking: you measure up, calculate brick and mortar consumption, choose bond and joint and carry it out neatly and durably. You earn a wage during training, and the path from apprentice to journeyman is clear.

• 01A visible result — you go home and can point to a wall you have built.
• 02Pay during training — you earn from day one of your training.
• 03A broad trade — façade, foundation, tiling, plastering, renovation and restoration.
• 04Solidarity — you work in a crew and help each other get ahead.
• 05Next steps — from apprentice to journeyman and on to foreman, site manager or your own business.

You must be able to read a drawing, set up corners and lines, lay bricks in bond with even joints, mix mortar correctly, cast and reinforce foundations, plaster and point — and take off quantities so that neither too little nor too much is ordered. Bricklayer is a vocational education (EUD): you alternate between school and training in a company.

• 01Bond and joints — pattern, coursing and even perpend and bed joints.
• 02Mortar and concrete — mixing, curing and cold-weather measures.
• 03Measurement — bricks/m², mortar and concrete volume from the actual dimensions.
• 04Foundation — excavation, formwork, reinforcement and casting.
• 05Render and finish — substrate, layer build-up and screeding.

Start the basic course (grundforløb) at a vocational college and find an apprenticeship at a bricklaying firm. You don't need to know it all in advance — you just need to enjoy working with your hands and making something that lasts. If you want to get a feel for the trade first, create a free account and browse the articles, calculators and posts here.

“The best thing about the trade is that you make something that lasts a hundred years. When the façade stands plumb with neat joints, everyone can see it's proper work.”

The whole education lasts 3 years and 11 months to 5 years. That includes the two parts of the basic programme, each lasting 20 weeks. The education covers bricklaying, plastering, tiling, maintenance and renovation, «both with traditional methods and with sustainable materials and solutions».

The collective agreement for bricklaying and bricklayer labourer work sets a minimum wage for apprentices. It is a floor, not the typical wage: the wage you actually get may be higher.

As a qualified journeyman, the minimum wage is DKK 149.65 per hour from 1 March 2026.

The chart shows how many residential buildings with a brick facade were built in each decade since 1900. Notice the two tall bars in the 1960s and 1970s. Those houses have cavity walls with wall ties, and they must be inspected, repointed and retro-insulated. So the bricklayer's market is also maintenance, not just new construction.