Groundworkers for drainage, foundations, concrete works, kerbing and earthworks — for contractors who need them on site, and for groundworkers looking for their next job.
Groundworkers are usually first on site. We recruit for residential and commercial groundworks, including:
Some groundworkers also operate plant. If the role includes driving a dumper or an excavator, say so in your enquiry — operating plant needs its own card, covered below.
The CSCS card for a qualified groundworker is the blue Skilled Worker card. CSCS lists the NVQ Level 2 in Construction and Civil Engineering Operations (General Construction) and the Groundworker apprenticeship as qualifying routes.
Workers still working towards the qualification usually hold a red card: a Trainee card while registered on the NVQ, an Apprentice card on a recognised apprenticeship, or an Experienced Worker card (valid for one year, not renewable) for people with at least a year's recent experience who are registered on the NVQ. Experienced workers can complete the NVQ through an on-site assessment or an Experienced Worker Practical Assessment. The old Industry Accreditation route has closed.
Operating plant is separate. CSCS does not issue plant cards — they come from partner schemes such as CPCS and NPORS. The law requires employers to make sure anyone using work equipment has adequate training, and each site sets its own card requirements for plant, so tell us which card and category your site needs. See our plant operators page for the categories.
ONS figures put the median hourly pay of employed groundworkers at £16.00 in April 2025 — about £128 for an 8-hour day. This is official national benchmark data, not a rate we are offering: pay for any role depends on the site, the location and the terms agreed. Self-employed rates differ because they have to cover holiday, pension and tax. Our labourer day rates guide sets out the benchmarks by trade.
Sources: CSCS Card Finder (occupation: Groundworker); ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025, SOC 2020 unit group 9121; Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9. Accessed 25 September 2026.
Send a staffing enquiry and we aim to respond within one business day. Include:
Registration is free and does not guarantee work. We don't run a job board — we contact you when suitable work comes up. Have ready:
Usually the blue Skilled Worker card, which needs an NVQ Level 2 in Construction and Civil Engineering Operations (General Construction) or the Groundworker apprenticeship, plus a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test passed within the last two years. Groundworkers still qualifying hold a red Trainee, Apprentice or Experienced Worker card.
Only to operate plant. The legal duty is for employers to make sure plant users are adequately trained. Plant cards come from schemes such as CPCS and NPORS and are specific to the machine category — for example a forward tipping dumper or a 360 excavator — and each site decides which cards it accepts.
The ONS median for employed groundworkers was £16.00 an hour in April 2025, about £128 for an 8-hour day. Self-employed day rates are higher because they cover the worker's own holiday, pension and tax. This is a national benchmark, not a promised rate.
You can request several groundworkers, labourers and plant operators in one staffing enquiry, and we will work to fill each role.
More on hiring and working in this trade.
