Builders' merchant
Builders' merchants supply building materials, DIY products and construction equipment to tradespeople and the public.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
As a builders' merchant, you could:
- take customer orders face to face, over the phone and online
- advise customers on products, materials and equipment
- load and unload deliveries by hand or with a forklift truck
- process payments and send out invoices
- put orders together and organise deliveries
- monitor stock, re-order supplies and keep records up to date
Working environment
You could work at a builder's yard, at a store or in a warehouse.
Your working environment may be physically demanding and outdoors in all weathers.
You may need to wear protective clothing.
Career path and progression
With experience, you could become a warehouse team leader, branch manager or area manager.
You might also move into construction plant hire, trade sales or deliveries.
In a larger organisation, you may find opportunties to work in different parts of the business, for example:
- supply chain and logistics
- buying
- sales and marketing
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- customer service skills
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to work well with others
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be flexible and open to change
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- physical fitness and endurance
- the ability to organise your time and workload
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently
Restrictions and Requirements
You'll need to:
- have forklift truck driver training for some jobs
Some jobs with a builders' merchant may involve driving delivery trucks up to 7.5 tonnes. For these you'll need to have a category C1 driving licence.
How to become
You can get into this job through:
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
You could apply to do a Trade Supplier Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship with a building supplies company.
You could also do a Hire Controller (plant, tools and equipment) Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship, if you want to work in construction plant hire.
These typically take 1 year to complete and combine learning in the workplace and off-site training.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More Information
You could apply directly to work as a builders' merchant.
Employers may want you to have GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including maths and English.
Experience in retail or warehousing could also be useful.
Career tips
A background in the construction industry, for example painting and decorating or working with timber, could be helpful, though is not essential.
Good IT skills are useful for using computerised stock and booking systems but employers will give you training when you start.
Further information
You can find out more about working as a builders' merchant from Building Materials Careers, and working in construction equipment hire from Go Construct.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.