Road builder (Wegenbouwer)
Information on this skill...
A road builder is a civil craftsman who is responsible for constructing, modifying and maintaining roads. A road builder may be responsible for various activities, as the profession of road builder may relate to different professions within road construction. The name road builder is therefore a general name for craftsmen who work in road construction. Road builders rarely work alone because this is actually impossible to do. Most road builders work with a large team of other professionals to be able to process asphalt into a road, for example. Before the asphalt can be processed, quite a few preparations are needed, such as checking all machines for their operation and taking safety measures. In the Netherlands there are many companies active in the field of road construction and there are therefore also many different types of road builders active, who can carry out various activities. Asphalting work often involves large surfaces that need to be asphalted, such as a highway or other roads. The preparations before a road can actually be paved are often substantial, such as informing all residents along the road in question and providing diversion routes. If a diversion route cannot be realized, in most cases various safety measures will have to be taken to be able to work safely. In most cases, there are also other activities that need to be carried out. Think, for example, of replacing the guardrail or adjusting all traffic systems. It goes without saying that the various craftsmen are all responsible for their own specific work.
Road builder is a broad concept because there are many different disciplines when we speak of a road builder. Think, for example, of earthworkers, of pipelayers, of asphalt workers and, for example, of pavers when it concerns no asphalt. In addition, road builders also have to deal with supervisors who supervise the work. Consider, for example, an official who is responsible from the municipality for supervising the sewerage work as a sewer manager. Whether a road builder will have to deal with a sewer manager depends on the type of work. In most cases, a road builder will have to deal with different stakeholders because road construction work is important for multiple parties. As a road builder, you are generally an all-round employee who can be used for multiple activities. Which work a road builder will carry out exactly can further differ per road builder. Work on traffic systems is generally carried out by a specialized traffic technician. As a road builder, you generally have to deal with various policy officers and traffic engineers who supervise the work.
REPLACING ASPHALT
Asphalt often needs to be replaced because it wears out due to road traffic and weather influences such as frost. Small damages can often be repaired, but when a road surface is really too bad, it is preferable to remove everything in order to be able to renew the road at once. There are also ongoing studies to make asphalt more sustainable so that it can last longer, such as the use of reinforced asphalt. The Dutch roads are known because they are often so beautifully finished. It is the asphalt pavers who take care of this. A new asphalt road is often as flat as a mirror, which is of course extra safe for motorists.
DAMAGED ASPHALT
Especially heavy vehicles such as trucks can often damage the road surface. Also for traffic lights, potholes can often occur in the road at an asphalt road surface because heavy vehicles stop and accelerate there again and again. Asphalt is ideal as a road surface because it is relatively cheap and nice to drive. For example, everyone knows the so-called ZOAB, which stands for Very Open Asphalt Concrete. The ZOAB ensures that rain can quickly run away through the asphalt, which makes driving in the rain a lot nicer because there is better visibility and less chance of aquaplaning. A big disadvantage of ZOAB is that it can easily freeze in the winter, which causes large holes in the road.
WHAT DOES A ROAD BUILDER DO:
TRAINING TO BECOME A ROAD BUILDER
Various training opportunities for the profession of road builder can be found through ordinary schools. The general education for this profession is MBO education ground, water and road construction (GWW) at level two or three. The profession has various disciplines, such as the profession of earthworker or road engineer, which become accessible by following the training. However, it may be that further training must be done for specific positions within the profession. The MBO course ground, water and road construction (GWW) generally takes two years, and is an excellent starting course within civil engineering as a road builder. In general, during the training you will work four days a week at a recognized training company, under the supervision of a teacher, and receive theory lessons at school one day a week. During the training, you will also be regularly visited by your internship supervisor to discuss the progress together. In practice, you will learn, among other things, how to build a sewer system and how to build roads. During the theory lesson at school, attention is paid to the following subjects: Mathematics, Physics and Mechanics. After determining your diploma, you can continue to the further training all-round craftsman ground, water and road construction at level three. Accounting is also important as an entrepreneur.
COMPANIES WHERE A ROAD BUILDER CAN BE EMPLOYED
As a road builder, you work in infrastructure or civil engineering, for civil contractors. The clients are in most cases municipalities, provinces, Rijkswaterstaat and water boards. But also think of large companies such as Schiphol with many roads and runways.
COMPETENCES ROAD BUILDER
The most important competence as a road builder is that you have sufficient professional knowledge and know how to build good roads or sewers. In addition, it is important that you have sufficient insight into the working conditions and therefore know how to work safely. Because you will rarely or never work alone within the road builder profession, you must also be a team player, and therefore have a good communication skills. But also the ability to tackle and perseverance are important competencies as a road builder.
LABOUR MARKET PERSPECTIVE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AS A ROAD BUILDER
In general, it will not be a problem to obtain work as a road builder, provided you have received the right training because there are many companies active in this field. Within the Netherlands there are many roads and sewers, which require regular maintenance and therefore also many road builders. It is true that there can be a lot of competition for a vacancy because there are many people working within the industry. The career opportunities as a road builder are generally limited. Those who want to grow will have to follow extra training to be more widely employable for an employer. However, with sufficient experience, you may be able to grow into a supervisor or assistant executor of the smaller projects, provided that this opportunity is offered by the employer.
TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT AND SALARY OF ROAD BUILDER
As a road builder working in the infrastructure, you fall under the collective labour agreement of the construction industry, in which all employment conditions are regulated. There is also a department of Bouwend Nederland active for the road industry that represents the interests for road construction, namely the department of specialist road construction. As a road builder, it can happen, depending on the employer, that you have to work a lot in the evening or night, which as a future road builder you must be aware of before you register for a training in road construction. A road builder will usually earn a salary between 1700 and 2600 euros gross per month, depending on age, education and responsibilities. As an independent entrepreneur, this profession does not occur, unless you carry out paving work for private individuals.
The content on this page has been automatically translated from the Dutch language. For this reason, texts and videos on this page may contain small errors.
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