Occupation 9121 · Elementary occupations
Groundworkers prepare construction sites for building work by digging out and levelling the ground and laying concrete foundations, installing pipes and drainage and building paths, roads and driveways.
No academic qualifications are required. Training is typically provided on-the-job. Vocational qualifications in Ground Works Operations at level 2 and apprenticeships are available.
Drainage worker · Ground worker (building construction) · Trench digger
| Measure | Hours | Basis | Period | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 26,200.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 28,900.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 32,700.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 800.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 3,800.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 33,500.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
| 9121 : Groundworkers | None | None | 2026-03 | 2,700.00 | ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) |
ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.
| Region | Measure | Hours | Value | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 1,300.00 | 2026-03 |
| East Midlands | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 3,000.00 | 2026-03 |
| London | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | withheld | 2026-03 |
| North East | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 1,700.00 | 2026-03 |
| North West | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 1,300.00 | 2026-03 |
| Northern Ireland | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 800.00 | 2026-03 |
| Scotland | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 3,800.00 | 2026-03 |
| South East | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 3,100.00 | 2026-03 |
| South West | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 6,900.00 | 2026-03 |
| Wales | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 2,700.00 | 2026-03 |
| West Midlands | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 5,000.00 | 2026-03 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 9121 : Groundworkers | None | 3,700.00 | 2026-03 |
ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 11 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.