Careers advice
Your ultimate guide to labouring and hammerhand jobs in New Zealand
Learn how to land a labouring gig in NZ, level up your skills, and build a lifelong trade career.
Last updated: 29 June 2026
Understanding the roles: who does what on a Kiwi site?
| Job title | Main industry | What you'll do on the job | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building labourer | Building labourer | Residential construction | Residential construction | Helping residential builders, moving timber, digging footings, cleaning up housing sites, and prepping areas for framing. | Helping residential builders, moving timber, digging footings, cleaning up housing sites, and prepping areas for framing. |
| Construction labourer | Construction labourer | Commercial building | Commercial building | Working on large-scale commercial developments, setting up scaffolding, pouring concrete, and assisting specialised subcontractors. | Working on large-scale commercial developments, setting up scaffolding, pouring concrete, and assisting specialised subcontractors. |
| Civil labourer | Civil labourer | Infrastructure & roading | Infrastructure & roading | Laying pipes, earthworks, trenching, managing site drainage, and assisting with roading developments and heavy machinery prep. | Laying pipes, earthworks, trenching, managing site drainage, and assisting with roading developments and heavy machinery prep. |
| Hammerhand | Hammerhand | Carpentry & building | Carpentry & building | Working directly under qualified carpenters, doing basic framing, fixing cladding, using power tools, and reading basic building plans. | Working directly under qualified carpenters, doing basic framing, fixing cladding, using power tools, and reading basic building plans. |
| Trade assistant (TA) | Trade assistant (TA) | Specialised trades & engineering | Specialised trades & engineering | Partnering with a specific tradesperson (like an electrician, plumber, or welder) to handle tool prep, clean-up, and basic trade installation tasks. | Partnering with a specific tradesperson (like an electrician, plumber, or welder) to handle tool prep, clean-up, and basic trade installation tasks. |
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