Block Paver (Paving Stone Layer) CV Examples & Writing Guide
A block paver CV gets a call when it shows what you lay (patios, driveways, walls, permeable paving), how much you lay in a week, whether you can set levels and build the sub-base, which machines you hold tickets for, and your cards and qualifications. Add a callback record and a foreman will read the whole page.
Block paver CV example (hard landscaping lead, 7 years)
In the UK this job is usually advertised as block paver, paviour, hard landscaper or groundworker (paving), and as lead paver or hard landscaping foreman at supervisor level. In the US the same trade is called paver installer or hardscape installer. This sample is a lead paver at a domestic and light commercial landscaping contractor. Names and companies are invented.
Marek Kowalczyk
Lead Paver / Hard Landscaper
Nottingham · 07700 900164 · marek.kowalczyk@email.com · Full UK driving licence (B+E, C1) · bilingual English and Polish
Summary
Lead paver with 7 years laying block paving and flag patios, driveways, paths and segmental retaining walls. Runs a 4-person gang that averages 85 to 110 m² of finished paving a week, sets levels and falls from a rotating laser, and holds an NVQ Level 2 and a CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. Fewer than 1% of jobs have come back for settlement or edge failure in three years.
Experience
Lead Paver · Domestic and light commercial landscaping contractor, 30 employees
Apr 2022 – Present
- Lead a 4-person gang on 60 to 75 jobs a year: patios from 30 to 220 m², block paved driveways, paths, steps, fire pits, seating walls and segmental retaining walls up to 1.2 m.
- Set out, levels and drainage on every job, laying paved surfaces to a fall of about 1:80 away from the building and checking with a rotating laser and staff.
- Dig out and build the sub-base to spec: 150 to 300 mm of compacted Type 1 depending on ground and loading, laid in 75 mm layers and compacted with a plate compactor or reversible plate, with a geotextile membrane over soft ground.
- Screed a sharp sand laying course about 25 mm deep, lay the pattern (herringbone, stretcher bond, basketweave), cut with a block splitter, bench saw and disc cutter, bed kerbs and edgings on a concrete haunch and finish with kiln-dried jointing sand.
- Average 85 to 110 m² of finished paving a week with the gang; callbacks for settlement or edge failure under 1% of jobs across three years.
- Run the mini digger, skid steer, tracked dumper and plant trailer, and drive the 7.5-tonne tipper on a C1 licence when needed.
- Train 6 new labourers on sub-base prep, screeding and cutting; 4 have moved up to lead paver.
- Run the daily toolbox talk and manage silica dust control on all cutting, using water suppression and on-tool extraction.
Block Paver · Driveway and garden landscaping contractor, 12 employees
May 2019 – Mar 2022
- Laid 180+ domestic block paved driveways, patios and paths over three seasons, working 50 to 60 hour weeks from March to November.
- Built 40+ segmental retaining walls to 1.8 m with geogrid reinforcement, drainage stone and perforated pipe, following the manufacturer's installation guide on every wall.
- Laid 9 permeable block paving jobs including open-graded sub-base and inspection points, for driveways and a council car park.
- Cut sub-base rework from a recurring problem to near zero on the gang by checking compaction with a hand probe and a proof roll before any sand went down.
Landscape Labourer · Landscaping and grounds maintenance company
Mar 2018 – Apr 2019
- Handled digging out, barrowing, turfing, planting and drainage trenching on 200+ domestic properties.
- Learned sub-base preparation and block laying as a second-year labourer and moved to the paving gang full time.
Education
GCSEs including English and Maths, then sixth form
Secondary school and sixth form, Nottingham, 2017
Manufacturer installer training (segmental retaining walls and permeable paving)
Paving and walling manufacturer training days, 3 sessions, 2023
Certifications
- NVQ Level 2 in a paving and hard landscaping route (construction operations), 2021
- Segmental retaining wall installer training, manufacturer programme, 2023
- CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card, valid to 2028
- Silica dust awareness training and RPE face-fit test, 2024
- Driving licence categories B, B+E and C1, clean
- Emergency First Aid at Work, valid to 2027
Skills
What a landscaping firm owner or foreman checks first
The person reading your CV is usually the owner of a 10 to 40 person landscaping or groundworks firm, or the contracts manager. They know exactly what a bad sub-base costs them, and they read for evidence you will not build one.
- Can you set levels? Setting out, falls, drainage and string lines are the difference between a paver and a labourer. Anyone can lay blocks on a screeded bed; far fewer can decide how deep to dig and where the water goes.
- Sub-base knowledge. Depth by ground type and loading, layer thickness, compaction, membrane, and when to dig out soft spots. This is where callbacks come from and owners ask about it directly.
- What you can build beyond flat work. Retaining walls with geogrid, steps, seating walls, permeable paving, outdoor kitchens, drainage. Each one raises what a firm can charge for a gang with you in it.
- Plant tickets and a licence. Mini digger, skid steer, dumper, plant trailer, and your driving licence categories (B+E to tow, C1 for a tipper). Being able to move the machine and the materials yourself is worth real money to a small firm.
- Output and reliability. Square metres per day or week, jobs per season, callbacks, and whether you turn up through a full season. This trade runs on dry weather and gangs that lose days lose contracts.
“I can teach anyone to lay a paver in a day. What takes years is knowing how deep to dig on clay, how many lifts, and where the water goes. If your CV shows you understand base and grade, you start as a lead, not a labourer.”
Personal statement examples for paving and hard landscaping
Lead paver with 7 years laying block paving, flag patios, driveways and segmental retaining walls. Runs a 4-person gang averaging 85 to 110 m² a week, sets levels and falls from a laser, and holds an NVQ Level 2 and a CSCS Blue card. Under 1% callbacks in three years.
Block paver with 5 years on domestic hard landscaping: sub-base prep, screeding, laying, cutting and kerbs on 150+ driveways and patios. Runs a skid steer and mini digger, cuts wet for silica control, and works a full March to November season with no missed days.
Hard landscaper with 9 years on commercial and council projects: public realm paving, permeable car parks, accessible footpaths with tactile paving, and kerbing and drainage channels. Reads site plans and levels drawings, works to spec and inspection, and has run gangs of up to 8 on main contractor sites.
Mason and hard landscaper with 11 years across block paving, natural stone, blockwork walls, steps and outdoor kitchens. Lays sandstone and slate flags on a full mortar bed, builds stone cladding over blockwork, and lays segmental walls with geogrid. CSCS Blue card and NVQ Level 2.
Landscape labourer with 2 seasons on paving gangs: digging out, barrowing sub-base, running a plate compactor, screeding under supervision and cutting to a chalk line. Reliable in all weather, own transport and hand tools, working towards an NVQ Level 2. Available for full-season work.
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Block paver job description turned into bullets
The most common mistake on trade CVs is writing what the job is instead of what you did. Owners already know what the job is.
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| Laid paving for patios and paths. | Laid 60 to 75 jobs a year from 30 to 220 m², including patios, driveways, paths, steps and seating walls. |
| Prepared the sub-base. | Dug out and built 150 to 300 mm of compacted Type 1 in 75 mm layers depending on ground and loading, with a geotextile membrane over soft ground. |
| Set the levels for drainage. | Set out and laid falls on every job at about 1:80 away from the building, checked with a rotating laser and staff before any sub-base went down. |
| Cut blocks as needed. | Cut with a bench saw and disc cutter using water suppression and on-tool extraction for silica control, including radius cuts and soldier courses. |
| Built retaining walls. | Built 40+ segmental retaining walls to 1.8 m with geogrid, drainage stone and perforated pipe, following the manufacturer's installation guide on every wall. |
| Operated plant. | Ran mini digger, skid steer, tracked dumper and plant trailer daily, and drove the 7.5-tonne tipper on a C1 licence. |
| Led a team. | Led a 4-person gang at 85 to 110 m² of finished paving a week, running the daily toolbox talk and the materials order for each job. |
| Trained new starters. | Trained 6 new labourers on sub-base prep, screeding and cutting; 4 moved up to lead paver. |
| Did quality work. | Held callbacks for settlement or edge failure under 1% of jobs over three years by proof rolling and probing compaction before any sand went down. |
Cards, tickets and qualifications worth listing
There is no licence to lay paving in the UK, so cards and qualifications carry more weight than usual. They are the only third-party evidence on your CV.
- NVQ Level 2 in a paving, kerb laying or hard landscaping route. Most experienced pavers get it through an on-site assessment rather than college, and it is what you need for a CSCS Blue Skilled Worker card. List it with the year.
- Retaining wall and permeable paving courses, plus manufacturer installer programmes. Several paving and walling manufacturers run their own training, and some contractors get better pricing or referrals for having trained installers. Industry guidance such as Interpave's is worth knowing too.
- CSCS card. Required on almost all commercial and council sites and expected by most main contractors. If you lead a gang on site, SSSTS is worth adding.
- Silica training. Cutting concrete blocks and flags dry produces respirable crystalline silica, which HSE treats as a serious health risk in construction. If you have silica awareness training and a face-fit test for your mask, list them, because they show you know why you wet cut.
- Plant: CPCS or NPORS cards for excavator, dumper, roller and telehandler, plus your driving licence categories and whether you have B+E, C1 or C and a clean licence.
- Emergency First Aid at Work, and a street works (NRSWA) card if you have worked on the public highway.
- Nothing else needs a certificate. Do not invent one. If your training was on the job, write "trained on the job by an experienced lead paver" and describe what you can do.
Getting a first paving job with no experience
Landscaping and paving firms take on new starters every spring and train constantly, so a first job is realistic. What owners screen for is not skill, it is whether you will still be there in July.
- 1Put reliability first. Own transport, a full driving licence, willingness to start at 7am, and comfort with heat, rain and heavy lifting. Say it plainly at the top of the page.
- 2List any physical work you have done, even outside construction: warehouse, removals, farm, landscaping, roofing, gritting. Give the weights, the hours and the season length.
- 3Name any equipment you can already run: mower, trailer, plate compactor, breaker, dumper. Anything counts.
- 4Pass the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test and get a CSCS Labourer card before you apply. It does not cost much and signals that you are serious.
- 5If you have done any concreting, bricklaying, fencing or drainage work, describe it in the same language a paving gang uses: sub-base, compaction, levels, drainage.
- 6Say you want to learn the trade and stay through the season. Staff turnover is the industry's main problem and that sentence gets read.
- 7Apply in February and March. Firms take people on before the busy season and there are far more openings then than in June.
Loaded and unloaded 11 to 16 tonnes of freight per shift for two years with no lost-time injury, working outdoors in all weather on a 5am start.
Worked full seasons on a grass cutting and grounds maintenance team across 200+ properties, running strimmers, blowers and a pedestrian mower, plus trailer towing.
Assisted on 40+ concrete slab pours: setting formwork, barrowing and tamping concrete, and finishing edges under a lead concreter.
Operated a skid steer and mini digger on a farm for three seasons, including grading a 120-metre gravel track and digging drainage trenches.
Format, seasonality and applying
- One page, two at most. Nobody in this trade reads three. A foreman is looking at your CV on a phone in a van.
- Order: header with licence categories and cards visible, personal statement, experience, skills and plant, cards and tickets, education. No photo or date of birth. Put cards and plant high because they are the differentiators.
- Explain winter gaps rather than hiding them. "Laid off January to February due to weather; agency groundworks shifts" is normal in this trade. Unexplained gaps look worse than seasonal ones.
- Name the company type and size in the employer line, and the type of work: domestic, commercial, council, main contractor sites.
- Include your language skills. Many gangs are mixed and a lead who can run a gang in English and Polish or Romanian is worth more.
- Mirror the advert's words when true: block paving, hard landscaping, sub-base, Type 1, compaction, levels, drainage, kerbs, segmental retaining wall, permeable, jointing sand, mini digger, CSCS.
- PDF or a clean printed copy. Many small firms still hire from a paper CV handed over in the yard, so bring three copies to any interview.
- One line worth adding at the bottom: photos of your work available on request. Owners in this trade genuinely want to see a finished driveway and a wall you built.
Frequently asked questions
What is a paving stone layer called in the UK?
Usually block paver, paviour or hard landscaper, sometimes groundworker (paving), and lead paver or hard landscaping foreman at supervisor level. In the US the same trade is called paver installer or hardscape installer. Use the title from the advert in your headline so recruiters and job boards find you; the work itself is the same.
How do I write a block paver CV?
Lead with what you lay and how much you produce: square metres per week, jobs per season, project types. Show that you can set levels and build a sub-base, list your plant tickets and cards, and add a callback figure if you know it. One or two pages, plain layout.
What skills should be on a hard landscaping CV?
Setting out and levels, excavation and assessing the ground, sub-base laying and compaction in layers, screeding the laying course, laying patterns, cutting with dust control, kerbs and edgings, jointing sand, segmental retaining walls with geogrid, permeable paving, and the plant you run.
Do I need a qualification to lay paving?
Not by law, but most commercial and council sites need a CSCS card, and the Blue Skilled Worker card needs an NVQ Level 2, so that qualification appears on many adverts. Silica training is also expected on commercial jobs. Check planning and dropped kerb rules with your council if you plan to work for yourself.
How do I get a paving job with no experience?
Apply in February and March when firms take people on. Lead with reliability: transport, licence, early starts and comfort working in all weather. List any physical or outdoor work with weights and hours, name any equipment you can run, and get a CSCS Labourer card before you apply.
How should I handle seasonal gaps on my CV?
State them. Write the season dates in each job and add a line such as "laid off January to February due to weather, agency groundworks shifts". Employers in this trade expect it, and an explained gap reads far better than an unexplained one.
What numbers should a block paver put on a CV?
Square metres laid per day or week, number of jobs per season, project sizes in square metres, wall heights and lengths, gang size if you lead, and callback or rework rate. Two or three real figures are enough to make the whole page credible.
Ready to write yours?
The builder suggests a summary from your own experience, then checks it against the job posting.
How this page was made: a first draft was written with AI assistance from cvplex's example library, then edited and fact-checked by the cvplex Careers Team. Examples are fictional composites; numbers are illustrative. Report an error via the editorial policy page.