Concrete Products Machine Operator

Pay on a concrete products plant usually follows the manufacturing award or an enterprise agreement, so base rates are fairly consistent between yards. Shift rosters make most of the difference, because afternoon, night and weekend work carry loadings on top of the base rate, and larger block and pipe producers tend to sit higher than small precast yards. Extra licences, such as a forklift or overhead crane qualification, can move you onto a higher classification.

• Setting up steel moulds and checking the mix design for the day's run
• Starting the batching plant and adjusting water and admixture as the mix comes through
• Operating the press or vibrating table to fill and compact each mould
• Stripping cured product, stacking it in the yard and moving it with a forklift or overhead crane
• Inspecting edges, dimensions and finishes, and setting aside cracked or out-of-spec units

1. 1
   Start on the plant floor

   Most operators begin as a yard hand, offsider or production labourer and learn the machines while working. No prior qualification is needed to get that first job, and plants generally train new starters on the batching and moulding equipment themselves.

2. 2
   Pick up a Certificate III in Manufactured Mineral Products

   This qualification covers batching, moulding and curing, and many operators complete it as a traineeship while working, so it is paid time rather than a course taken up front. Around 34% of people in the role hold a Certificate III/IV, the most common qualification among them.

3. 3
   Get the licences the plant needs

   A forklift licence is close to standard, since product has to be moved around the yard, and some plants also want an overhead crane or dogging qualification. A White Card is required if you ever work on a construction site rather than inside the plant.

4. 4
   Learn the batch and the controls

   Operators who understand mix design and the PLC controls on the press move into setter or leading hand roles, where they set up runs, adjust the mix and check quality. That is the step that opens up higher classifications and shift supervisor work.

• Certificate III in Manufactured Mineral ProductsCertificate III

  Trains plant floor work making precast and pre-mixed concrete, including start-up, quality checks and solving plant problems.

Move to	Typical pay change	Overlap	Retraining
Machine Operator Concrete products operators can move into general machine operation, applying production line and equipment monitoring skills.	+$13,200	36%	reskill
Pipelayer Making concrete pipes gives operators product knowledge and site awareness useful in pipelaying work.	+$10,400	78%	short course
Sawmill Operator Feeding and monitoring production machines prepares concrete products operators for timber processing work.	+$7,900	93%	short course
Stone Machine Operator Operating concrete moulding machines builds the machine control and material handling skills used in stone processing.	+$0	78%	minimal
Clay Products Machine Operator Concrete products operators understand moulding and curing, which transfers to clay product forming after retraining in kiln processes.	−$2,600	36%	reskill

Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.

44

Median age

8%

Female share

92%

Full-time

+0h

vs all-jobs avg

Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.