How to become a structural metal preparer or erector
Official title: Structural metal preparer/erector
Also called: Bar bender (construction), Concrete reinforcing iron worker, Constructional steel erector, Fencing worker, Machine riveter, Metal plate bender, Metal shipwright, Mould lofter, Plate bender, Pneumatic riveter, Reinforcing iron worker, Rivet catcher
Structural metal preparer/erector assembles, erects and dismantles structural metal frames of buildings and other structures.
Main tasks
- Marking metal framework as a guide when drilling, cutting, and shaping them for use in buildings, ships and other structures
- Drilling, cutting and shaping structural steel in a workshop
- Erecting steel framework for buildings, bridges and other constructions
- Assembling and erecting the framework and other metal parts of ships’ structures
- Shaping and fitting structural-steel plates of ships under construction or repair
- Riveting structural-metal members by hand, machine or pneumatic riveter
Ways in
- Polytechnic or ITE: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec). Related ITE courses: Higher Nitec in Civil & Structural Engineering Design; Technical Engineer Diploma in Civil & Structural Engineering. Peernovo matched these from course names; ITE does not publish which jobs each course leads to.
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a structural metal preparer or erector?
Ways in include: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec).
Will AI change the work of a structural metal preparer or erector?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Updated 4 October 2026