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Construction & project management · Building & Making

Concrete finisher: what the job actually is

Placing, levelling and finishing poured concrete so a floor, sidewalk or slab ends up flat, hard and the right shape.

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Concrete finisher: quick facts

Concrete finisher salary in Ontario: the median pay is $35.70 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training.

Median pay in Ontario
$35.70 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$25.00 to $45.59 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
5,700
Usually needs
Usually a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 73100. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Taking wet concrete from the truck and turning it into a finished surface: spreading it, levelling it, working it smooth, and giving it the right texture for what it is for.
  • Concrete does not wait. Once it is poured, there is a window to get it right, and the people doing it work fast, together, and often on their knees.
  • Most of the job is outside, in whatever the weather is. Weather matters more than in most trades, because heat, cold and rain all change how concrete sets.
  • A lot of the work is prep: forms, edges, levels, and checking that the base is ready before the truck arrives. A finish is only as good as what it sits on.
  • Job Bank groups concrete finishers under one unit group, which includes precast concrete finishers, who work in a plant rather than on site. The Ontario trade is called Cement (Concrete) Finisher.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 6:30 — On site early. The forms were set yesterday and somebody checks the levels again. The truck is booked for seven and will not wait for you.
  2. 7:00 — The first truck arrives. Concrete comes down the chute and the whole crew moves at once: rake, spread, screed.
  3. 7:30 — Screeding the surface level with a long straight board, while somebody else follows with a bull float. This part needs your whole body and no talking.
  4. 8:30 — Wait. Concrete needs time before it can be finished, and the skill is knowing when it is ready. Too early ruins it, too late is worse.
  5. 9:30 — Finishing begins: trowels, edging, jointing, kneeboards. You are bent over a wet surface for a long time.
  6. 11:30 — Apply the final finish, a broom texture for a driveway or a smooth trowel finish for a floor. This is the part people notice, and the last ten minutes decide it.
  7. 12:30 — Lunch, and a check on the surface. It is hardening and cannot be touched now.
  8. 13:30 — Wash tools, clean the truck-chute area, strip forms from yesterday's pour.
  9. 14:30 — Next site. Set forms, check grades, set up for tomorrow's pour.
  10. 16:00 — Hands are rough, knees ache, and you can point at a floor and say you made it.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You like physical work where you can see the result at the end of the day, in a form you could walk on.
  • You are comfortable working fast and in step with a team, because a pour cannot be paused.
  • You can handle kneeling, bending and lifting for hours without complaining about it.
  • You do not mind weather being part of the job.
  • You want a trade where the skill is in your hands and judgment, not in a screen.
You may hate this if
  • You do not like physical strain. This is hard on knees, backs and hands, and it does not get easier with age.
  • You hate early starts. Concrete crews start when the truck is booked, not when you feel ready.
  • You want to control your own timing. A pour is a deadline that cannot move once it begins.
  • You are bothered by working in cold or heat. Both change how you work and how long you are out in it.
  • You want variety. Floors, slabs and sidewalks are different jobs, but the movements are the same ones, again and again.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. Finish secondary school

    Job Bank says completion of secondary school is usually required, and that the group also reaches people through a two- to four-year apprenticeship or over three years of work experience in the trade. Shop and construction courses help you find out if you like this kind of work.

  2. Find an employer who will take you on

    Start as a labourer or helper with a concrete contractor. Walking in and being useful beats an online application. A student in Grade 11 or 12 can ask about OYAP, which can earn co-op credits in a skilled trade.

  3. Register as an apprentice if you want the certificate

    Skilled Trades Ontario lists Cement (Concrete) Finisher as trade code 244G, a non-compulsory trade, with 4,980 hours in total: 4,500 hours on the job and 480 hours in school across two levels. It is also a Red Seal trade.

  4. Know that the certificate is optional here

    Job Bank says trade certification for this group is available but voluntary in Ontario. People can work as concrete finishers without it. Certification is what shows your skill and can help when you move between employers.

Where this comes from: Skilled Trades Ontario — Cement (Concrete) Finisher (244G) · Job Bank — Requirements for concrete finishers in Ontario · Ontario — Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program

The money

Concrete finisher salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$25.00
Low (hourly)
$35.70
Median (hourly)
$45.59
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 73100. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Concrete finisher wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
  • Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

5,700
people work in this job in Ontario
less than 5%
are women (48% across all jobs)
7%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Concrete finishers job prospects in Ontario (NOC 73100). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Take construction technology and shop courses. They teach the basics of layout, measurement and working to a level.
  • Ask about OYAP and a co-op placement with a concrete or construction contractor.
  • Look for summer or after-school labouring work on a construction site if you are old enough, and check what Ontario's rules allow for your age before you apply.
  • Watch a pour from the public side of a fence on a day when one is happening. Notice how many people are working and how little they talk.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Watch a pour and test your knees on the work

About 90 minutes
  1. Find a construction site with a concrete pour you can watch safely from a public sidewalk, or find a long video of one. Watch from the truck arriving to the last trowel pass and note how many separate jobs the crew is doing.
  2. Kneel on a hard floor for twenty minutes doing something with your hands, such as sorting a box of small items or wiping a floor. Notice what hurts and how you feel at the end.
  3. Do something outside for 30 minutes in the weather of the day, whatever it is. Notice whether you minded or whether it felt fine.
  4. Message one local concrete contractor through their public contact page with one question: what do they look for in a first-year helper.

What it tells you. If you could keep going on your knees, in the weather, and you found the crew's coordination interesting, this is a trade worth going deeper on. If your knees, back or patience gave out in twenty minutes, take that seriously now. The work only asks more of your body over time, and a no today saves years.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What does a pour day look like, hour by hour?”
  2. “What do you wish you had known before your first summer doing this?”
  3. “How do you take care of your knees and back?”
  4. “What does a good finisher do that a beginner does not?”
  5. “How does weather change your work and your pay?”
  6. “Did you do the apprenticeship, and did it make a difference?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, and it is more common than in many trades. Job Bank reports a low self-employment share for this group, but small concrete crews doing driveways, patios and floors exist in every town. What stops people is not skill; it is quoting jobs correctly, buying insurance, and managing weather delays, which is where the business side of this site comes in.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a concrete finisher make in Ontario?

The median pay for a concrete finisher in Ontario is $35.70 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $25.00 to $45.59 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a concrete finisher in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions. Not many positions will become available due to retirements. There are several unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a concrete finisher in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a shorter college programme or apprenticeship, or over six months of on-the-job training. The usual route in Ontario, in order: Finish secondary school; Find an employer who will take you on; Register as an apprentice if you want the certificate.

How many people work as a concrete finisher in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 5,700 people working in this job in Ontario. Less than 5% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Skilled trades hub: kids, teens and adults The highest-paying skilled trades OYAP: start in high school What can you do with your degree?

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.