Plasterer CV Examples & Writing Guide

A CV for a plasterer with nine years in the trade, the first four as an apprentice and improver. Name and companies are made up. Every job gives square metres, the systems applied (sand and cement render, one-coat render, EWI, skim), gang size and a callback or inspection record, which is exactly what a plastering or rendering contractor reads for.

Your CV is read by the owner or the contracts manager of a plastering firm, often on a phone between jobs. They want four things answered at a glance.

• What you can do in a day. Square metres of base coat, skim, render finish or EWI; plots per week on housing sites. Output is how they price, so a plasterer who knows their own numbers is worth an interview.
• Which systems and finishes. Sand and cement render, one-coat render, EWI, skimming, float and set, fibrous and lime work, dry lining. Name them. A new-build rendering gang and a heritage restoration firm hire completely different people.
• Callbacks and inspections. Cracking, debonding and snagging failures cost the contractor money and reputation. A stated callback rate and a first-time inspection record answer the question before it is asked.
• Qualifications, safety and practicalities. Your NVQ level (solid or fibrous) or apprenticeship, a CSCS card, PASMA or IPAF, silica dust training, a driving licence, own hand tools, and whether you can run a spray machine or a gang.

“I want to know how many square metres of base coat you can put up with a machine gang and whether your finish work comes back. If someone writes 'under 1% callbacks on 140 houses', I know they lay it right and they cure it right.”

The typical plasterer job description reads: apply plaster and render to internal and external surfaces, fix beads and mesh, mix materials, work from towers and scaffolds, follow safety rules. Those are the duties. On your CV, each one needs a size, a system and a result.

List 10 to 14 skills a contracts manager could put you on a wall to demonstrate. Group them by system so the reader can match you to their work.

• External render: beads and mesh, scratch and float coats, curing and weather protection, sand and cement and one-coat renders, scraped, dash and silicone finishes, movement-joint layout.
• EWI: substrate preparation, adhesive and mechanical fixing of insulation boards, base coat and mesh embedment, detailing at windows, eaves and DPC, sealant joints, manufacturer specifications.
• Internal solid plastering: skimming plasterboard, bonding and hardwall backing coats, float and set, smooth paint-ready finishes, Venetian and lime plaster.
• Fibrous and restoration: running cornices in situ, casting and fixing ceiling roses and cornices, patching historic lime plaster, matching old finishes.
• Dry lining where the firm does both: dot and dab, metal stud and MF ceilings, taping and jointing, angle beads, automatic taping tools.
• Equipment: render spray machines and mixers, plastering pumps, mobile towers, trestles and MEWPs, hawk and trowel, darby, floats, featheredges.
• Reading drawings: elevations, sections, joint and reveal layout, DPC and window details; agreeing sequence with bricklayers, window fitters and the site manager.
• Safety and site habits: CSCS card, silica dust controls and RPE, working at height and tower rules, cold-weather working, clean-up and protection of finished surfaces.

There is no licence for plasterers in the UK. What proves your training is an NVQ or completed apprenticeship, years in the trade and your site cards. Write them plainly and give the years.

• Asked for by most main contractors: a CSCS card for the level you work at (it needs the CITB Health, Safety and Environment test), PASMA for anyone using mobile towers, and silica dust training, because mixing, cutting and sanding create the dust and HSE expects it to be controlled.
• Strong plus: manufacturer training for the render or EWI system the contractor uses, IPAF and telehandler cards, a driving licence clean enough to drive the company van, a second language on mixed gangs.
• Do not write "fully qualified" without the level. Give the NVQ level, the type (solid or fibrous) and the year; contractors check it against your CSCS card.

Many people searching for a plasterer CV actually work as dry liners or tapers and jointers, and many firms do both. The CV follows the same rules with different numbers: boards fixed or square metres taped per day, finish standard, tools and the snagging record.

Plastering and rendering gangs hire labourers constantly, and apprenticeships take people with no trade background. They hire for four things: you turn up at 7 a.m. in all weathers, you can carry 25 kg bags all day, you follow instructions on a tower or scaffold, and you want to learn the trade. Prove those with specifics.

1. 1Header: name, phone, email, town, then a line of practical facts: driving licence and reliable transport, CSCS card if you have it, available for early starts and Saturdays, any second language.
2. 2Career objective: two lines naming the role (plasterer's labourer, apprentice plasterer) and what you bring (labouring experience, a college or pre-apprenticeship course, Armed Forces service, any bricklaying or groundwork).
3. 3Work history: every job that proves physical work and reliability, with numbers. Landscaping, groundworks, roofing, warehouse, farm work, removals. Give months without a missed shift, weights lifted, gang size, hours per week.
4. 4Skills: mixing plaster or render with a paddle or machine, using a barrow and mixer, setting up hop-ups and trestles, reading a tape measure, cleaning tools. One page, no photo; many firms still hire by word of mouth or in person, so keep printed copies.

• One to two pages. Most plasterers fit on one: header, personal statement, experience with square metres, skills by system, qualifications and site cards. Two pages are normal in the UK for a contracts manager or estimator with a long project list.
• Plain layout, single column, standard font, no photo, no date of birth. Small plastering firms print it or read it on a phone; large dry lining and EWI subcontractors and main contractors use applicant tracking systems that read plain text best.
• Save as a text-based PDF named Firstname-Lastname-Plasterer-CV.pdf, or Word if the advert asks. A short cover email is normal alongside it.
• Keywords to mirror from the advert: "render", "skim", "float and set", "EWI", "monocouche", "dry lining", "tape and joint", "fibrous", "NVQ Level 2", "CSCS", "PASMA", "spray machine", "domestic", "commercial", "gang leader".
• In Scotland the equivalent qualification is an SVQ in Plastering; list it the same way with the level. Floor screeding is worth a line too, as many plastering firms also lay screeds. The output and callback numbers matter everywhere.

Run the finished page through the cvplex ATS checker with the advert pasted in. It flags bullets with no square metres or result, a system the advert names that you left out, and a missing site-card line.