Tradesman's mate

Pay in the destination countries

Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.

What does the day look like?

You report for muster and a safety briefing at 06:45 or 07:00, then work from 07:00 or 07:30 to 15:30, 16:00 or 17:00, 5 to 6 days per week, 40 hours to 50 hours in total. You unload cement sacks, blocks, timber beams, drywall boards, insulation rolls and copper piping, strip old plasterboard and tiles with hand chisels and pry bars, sweep dust, shovel rubble into wheelbarrows, load skips, mix mortar in a paddle mixer, hold tape measures over long spans, steady heavy sheets while the master fixes them, and set up barriers and warning signs.

Your tools are wheelbarrows, shovels, 3 kg to 5 kg sledgehammers, pry bars, tape measures, spirit levels, plus hammer drills, paddle mixers, jackhammers, wet/dry extractors and pressure washers; you wear S3 steel-toe boots, a hard hat, a high-visibility vest and an FFP2 or FFP3 respirator. 80% to 90% of the day is heavy manual labour, direct work with the master is only 10% to 20%. Refurbishment jobs in shopping centres, transport hubs and offices run night shifts because daytime dust and noise are banned, and outdoor sites work through rain, mud and extreme heat.

Where does this lead?