REALITY CHECK: Construction work actually requires the SKILLED use of tools. It takes craftsmanship and pride to build structurally sound, visually pleasing and properly functioning buildings and infrastructure – craftsmanship that has been honed through many thousands of hours of practice and application.
And while construction work does require tradespeople to skillfully apply the tools of their trade – it is construction after all – depending on the nature of your work, it can also require
- creative problem solving
- confident decision making
- job task planning and organizing
- performing complex calculations
- reading and interpreting blueprints and building codes
- performing tasks that require greater memory use than most jobs
- using computer applications or technical tools to operate machinery
- and of course, thinking skills to do all of this
These skills are all referred to as Essential Skills.
Ask any tradesperson and they’ll tell you, they are constantly learning new things on the job.
So yes, as a skilled tradesperson you will need to apply your skill with the tools of your trade, just like how any professional uses the tools of his or her profession, but you need to use your brain, too!