9121 Groundworkers
Unit group 9121 in the ONS Standard Occupational Classification 2020, with the line the Appendix Skilled Occupations gives it. Not immigration advice.
In short
- ONS unit group 9121, in minor group 912 (Elementary construction occupations) and major group 9 (Elementary occupations).
- Appendix Skilled Occupations (figures as at 3 August 2026, re-checked 26 October 2026): Not on the list: Table 6.
- Going rate as the tables print it:
What the ONS says
Description
Groundworkers prepare construction sites for building work by digging out and levelling the ground and laying concrete foundations, installing pipes and drainage and building paths, roads and driveways.
Typical entry routes
No academic qualifications are required. Training is typically provided on-the-job. Vocational qualifications in Ground Works Operations at level 2 and apprenticeships are available.
Tasks
- mark out site area set up the construction site
- prepares site and lays concrete for shallow foundations and fabricates steel cages
- installs drainage and pipes and redirects waterways away from site
- builds paths, roads, kerbs and footpaths, using flagstones, paving and tarmac
Related job titles
- Drainage worker
- Ground worker (building construction)
- Trench digger
What the Appendix Skilled Occupations says
The Appendix lists this code in the table below, with the table’s own caption and the row as printed. Read the full table, and any condition in it, on GOV.UK.
Table 6: SOC 2020 occupation codes which are not eligible for the Skilled Worker, Global Business Mobility or Scale-up routes
- SOC 2020 occupation code
- 9121 Groundworkers
- Examples of related job titles (non-exhaustive)
- Drainage worker
- Ground worker (building construction)
- Trench digger
Other unit groups in minor group 912
Sources
Occupation text: Office for National Statistics, SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (file dated 27 August 2026, version V13). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Open Government Licence v3.0. Tables: Home Office, Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Occupations on GOV.UK, page updated 3 August 2026; re-checked against the page updated 8 October 2026 on 26 October 2026, tables unchanged.
SponsorFlow provides compliance software and record-keeping tools. It is not a law firm or an immigration adviser and does not give legal or immigration advice, which are regulated activities (Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, section 84). This page describes what the published Home Office guidance and the Immigration Rules say, with the paragraph for each point, so you can read the source yourself. Guidance versions and figures are those in force on the date shown; the Home Office changes them, so check the current version before you rely on any of it.
Immigration firms: check the role, build the file.
Step 1 checks a role and its candidates against the published rules, with the quote and the paragraph for each finding. Step 2 builds the Appendix D file. Your solicitor decides and signs. £1,875 a month + VAT, unlimited files and client portals, 30 days free on a real file, no card.
Try it free for 30 daysSponsoring employers: ask your adviser.
SponsorFlow is supplied through your immigration adviser, in a client portal under the firm’s name. Care providers: see MyCareGuard’s sponsor-licence module.
How employers get SponsorFlow