Whether you already work in the building game or you’re just leaving school, great opportunities await in the construction industry.

The foreman profession is just one of these roles, promising a rewarding career for men and women in Australia.

In this article, we’ll help you work out whether this career choice is right for you by unpacking the foreman role and salary. Read on to learn about this exciting career.

What is a foreman?

Before we discuss how much a foreman earns in Australia, let’s discuss what a foreman actually does.

A foreman’s job is to make sure everything runs smoothly on a construction site. They are in charge of acting as a liaison between construction workers and supervisors.

A foreman’s key responsibilities involve organising regular duties, developing worker schedules, monitoring site quality, and managing the budget.

They must also update their bosses on the project’s progress. Construction supervisor and construction manager are two positions that a foreman might progress to.

Foreman salary

According to Aussie jobs website, Talent, the average foreman salary is $104,813 a year.

This translates to an average foreman wage of $53.75 per hour.

Foreman wages for entry-level jobs start at $69,125 a year, with the highest-paid employees receiving foreman salaries of $177,500 per year.

Now that you know the foreman salary, let’s see how it stacks up against other similar construction careers using the same Talent AU statistics.

The average foreman earns a little bit more than the average site supervisor, at $100,000 per year. 

And on average, a foreman earns a little more than a builder, at $86, 473 per year.

But while foreman salaries are not far off superintendent ($152, 477) and and project manager salaries ($128,051), they do earn a little bit less. 

However, as we’ll show you later, becoming a foreman can be a stepping stone to getting one of these higher paying careers. 

What are the prerequisites?

To be a foreman, you normally need to have completed year 10 at high school. 

Because of the competition for these sorts of jobs, you also normally need a construction qualification of some kind (but more on this in the next section.)

How to become a foreman

If you want to become a building foreman in the construction industry, you have a number of pathways available to you.

You could do construction courses or certificates with a trusted training provider like CWBTS. For example, some foremen start out as trades before working their way up.

Another great way to get into this line of work is diving into the CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building).

This cert 4 trains you in construction supervisory roles. These include foreman, site manager, construction project supervisor, coordinator, or planner.

When you study with CWBTS, you can do your CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building) either in person or online at the virtual classroom. The choice is yours depending on which style of learning suits you the best.

Some of the benefits of doing your Cert 4 in Building and Construction online is that you get the ultimate flexibility to study in your own time, when and where it suits you.

It allows you to continue working and balancing your other commitments during the day, while studying after hours in a fun and interactive online platform.

What to think about before becoming a foreman

If you’re considering construction jobs, you must be wondering, What is the average salary of a foreman?

As we’ve shown in this article, the average foreman salary is one of the best in the construction industry.

As a job that requires higher qualifications and has more responsibilities than trades and labourers, the foreman role could allow you to earn more than say, a carpenter.

Becoming a foreman also gives you a chance to continue advancing your career and working your way up to even higher positions.

As a foreman, you could step into other roles like construction supervisor or construction manager.

But while salary considerations are definitely important, you should also consider whether you would enjoy this role.

The more passionate you feel in your profession, the more rewarding your salary will be.  

Thinking of doing a CPC40110 Certificate IV in Building and Construction (Building)? Find out everything there is to know by speaking to a CWBTS course advisor. Contact our team at 1300 4 CWBTS or request a call back today.