How Do I Learn To Plaster And Become Licensed?
Learning the art of plastering can begin as early as high school with students taking classes in math, shop, and mechanical drawing. The basic classes will help a future plasterer qualify to learn the trade at the side of a master plasterer either through an apprenticeship program or informally on the job. To become an accomplished plasterer, apprentices are required to complete 3 to 4 years of training.
Plasterers starting out most commonly get jobs with a plastering contractor who will provide the apprentice with paid on the job training. If the worker is entry level without a formal apprenticeship, they usually start out as helpers to more advanced workers. Carrying materials, setting up scaffolds, mixing plaster, applying the three levels of plaster and replication of plaster for restoration work are all some of things they will do. Additionally, entry level plasterers may be offered formal classroom training at a trade or vocational school by their employers.
Apprentices in a formal plastering program will be apprenticed for 3 to 4 years of paid on the job training and must complete 160 hours of classroom instruction per each year of apprenticeship. They will learn how to draft, read blueprints, estimate materials and cost, casting ornamental plaster designs and basic math skills for layout work. While they are on the job, apprentices will learn about laths, methods of plastering, plaster mixes, and safety. They will receive training on the proper care and use of hand and power tools and they may receive cross training in cement masonry and bricklaying.
Prospective apprentices should be at least 18 years of age and have a high school diploma or equivalent. General math, mechanical drawing, and shop classes in high school are all recommended and provide a useful background for their apprenticeship training. Plasterers should be in good physical shape and should be good with their hands. Artistic creativity is also a plus for people who do decorative plastering as they will be required to create unique patterns in the plaster usually without any template or form to follow.
Because plastering can be considered a masonry trade, plasterers can receive training and certification that will help enhance their skills and broaden their skill base. One such organization, the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, International Masonry Institute will confer a designation on plasterers that complete a 12-week certification course. If they pass the course and the competency based examination, they are known from that point on as a ‘journey level plasterer’. They can then become trainers and take on their own apprentices while sporting the designation of ‘Certified Instructor of Journeyworkers and Apprentices in the Trowel Trades.’
People with plastering training commonly move into positions of supervisor, superintendent, or estimator for a plastering firm. Some go on to start their own plastering company. Plasterers who have cross-trained as stucco mason or bricklayers also open up wider opportunities for their businesses in that they are able to perform more task on a job site than just the basic plastering needs.
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