Will AI replace Steel erectors?

Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 31 official task statements scored for Steel erectors (United Kingdom, SOC 5311), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 2 out of 100 (range 2–7, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.

Which tasks in “Steel erectors” can AI already do?

The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required” (43/100, partial); “Follow instructions on engineering drawings” (10/100, minimal); “Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using appropriate equipment” (9/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.

Which tasks in “Steel erectors” stay human?

About 96% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled” (0/100, minimal); “Erect precast concrete components for infrastructure projects” (0/100, minimal); “Work from mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) to perform tasks at height” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.

What should someone working in “Steel erectors” do about AI?

Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 96% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.

How is the AI exposure score for Steel erectors calculated?

Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 31 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

UK dataswitch to US

Steel erectors

connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, installing metal decking into place and preparing structural steel members. If that's your week, this page is about your job.

The honest answer

AI changes the edges of this job, not the middle: connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors is work software can't reach.

Your move: what you can actually do about this ↓

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 0%
changing shape: 4%
staying human: 96%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

Whole-job exposure score 2 out of 100 (2–7 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, across 31 scored tasks. The number is the support for the sentence above it, not a headline about anyone’s future.

How we know this

What is measured: Every published task statement for steel erectors is rated on five dimensions: can a model produce the output, does the work need a body in a room, does it need a legally accountable person, does it depend on a person being trusted in the moment, and how much data exists. A published formula turns those five ratings into the score; the model never writes the number.

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

What shifts is reading specifications or blueprints to determine the locations. This page scores what today's tools actually do, not headlines.

Your week, as this page understands it

Steel erectors fit and erect structural metal framework for buildings and other structures such as metal chimneys. The job title says “steel erectors”. The real job is the part underneath: connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors. That is the thing someone has to be right about.

The exposed part of this job is specific, and we won’t pretend it is coming back. But steel erectors is not one task. It is 31 scored ones, and they are nowhere near equally exposed. The most durable of them, on this evidence, is connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors, and the ledger below shows exactly why.

Where the work sits, by task weight

shifting to AI: 0%
changing shape: 4%
staying human: 96%

These bars are tasks changing hands, not people being counted out. The ledger below shows which.

How we know this

How the bar is built: Each task’s share of the bar is its published importance weight, so a task you do all day counts for more than one you do twice a year.

Release: 2026-q4.1, scores computed 2026-08-05. Read the full method.

Your job, task by task

These are the official task statements for this occupation, in plain English, sorted by what the evidence says is happening to each one. The official wording sits under every line so you can check the rewrite against it.

11 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Shifting to AI

0 tasks

Tasks today’s tools can already do most of. This is the part we will not soften: where these rows are the bulk of your week, the week changes.

Nothing in this job’s scored task list landed in this group. That is the measurement, not an editorial choice, and it is worth knowing either way.

Changing shape

1 task

Tasks where the machine takes the producing and a person keeps the checking, the deciding, or the answering-for-it. For most jobs this is the biggest group, and it is where "transformation, not termination" is literally visible.

Reading specifications or blueprints to determine the locations
The software now makes the first pass at specifications, but the deciding part still needs a person. So the job becomes checking and deciding rather than producing.
importance 85 · 5311/00
Source: “Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 43 out of 100 (36–50 allowing for uncertainty): partial exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; mistakes that are cheap to catch.
The rating behind it: Reading drawings to work out material sizes and quantities is information work, though it happens alongside the job itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 2/4 · needs a body in a room 1/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.

Staying human

30 tasks

Tasks that stay with a person, because they happen in the physical world, because the rules need someone accountable, or because the value is that a specific person does them.

Connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors
This work happens in the physical world: columns, beams and girders, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 90 · 5311/00
Source: “Connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Bolting beams and columns together is hands-on work carried out on the structure, usually at height.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Bolting or welding steelwork together
This work happens in the physical world: steelwork together, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 85 · 5311/00
Source: “Bolt or weld steelwork together.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Bolting and welding steel together is hands-on work on the structure.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Constructing structures by assembling pre-made metal frames
This work happens in the physical world: structures, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 85 · 5311/00
Source: “Construct structures by assembling pre-made metal frames, scaffolding, and platforms.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Assembling metal frames and platforms is heavy physical work on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Installing girders and sections into place on construction projects
This work happens in the physical world: girders, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 85 · 5311/00
Source: “Install girders and sections into place on construction projects.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Lifting and fixing heavy girders into place on site is done by people and cranes, not software.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Welding steel pieces using welding equipment
This work happens in the physical world: steel pieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 85 · 5311/00
Source: “Weld steel pieces using welding equipment.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Welding steel is hands-on work at the joint, and structural welds must be made by a formally qualified welder.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Following instructions on engineering drawings
This work happens in the physical world: instructions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Follow instructions on engineering drawings.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 10 out of 100 (6–14 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: The drawing can be read by software, but following it means doing the work at the bench.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Verifying vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members
This work happens in the physical world: vertical, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using appropriate equipment.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 9 out of 100 (2–16 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Software can process the survey readings, but taking them means setting instruments up against the steel in place.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 1/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Attaching handrails to ensure safety compliance
This work happens in the physical world: handrails, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Attach handrails to ensure safety compliance.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Handrails have to be physically bolted on at height, so this is hands-on work throughout.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Ensuring steel sections and beams are properly
This work happens in the physical world: steel sections, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Ensure steel sections and beams are properly levelled.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Checking and adjusting beams to level means being on the steel with instruments and tools.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.

Show the other 21 tasks

Assembling lifting equipment, chain slings or steel wire rope slings to customer/client specification and current industry standard
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: equipment, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Assemble lifting equipment such as chain slings or steel wire rope slings to customer/client specification and current industry standard.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 4 out of 100 (0–11 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, medium confidence.
Why it sits in this group: the same decision, made over and over; work that happens in the physical world; someone qualified has to answer for it.
The rating behind it: Making up slings is done by hand to a written specification, and lifting gear must be certified by a competent person.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 3/4 · needs an accountable person 2/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 3/4.
Installing metal decking into place
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: metal, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Install metal decking into place.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Laying metal decking is lifting and fixing sheets in place, which needs people on the frame.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Preparing structural steel members
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: structural steel members, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 80 · 5311/00
Source: “Prepare structural steel members for riveting, bolting, or welding.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Preparing steel members for fixing means cleaning, marking and handling real metal by hand.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Bending steel pieces using torches for structural assembly
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: steel pieces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 75 · 5311/00
Source: “Bend steel pieces using torches for structural assembly.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Heating and bending steel with a torch is a physical skill performed on the material itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Driving drift pins through rivet holes to align holes in structural steel members
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: drift pins, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 75 · 5311/00
Source: “Drive drift pins through rivet holes to align holes in structural steel members.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Driving drift pins to line up holes is pure hand work on the steelwork.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Guiding steel loads that are being lifted into position
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: steel loads, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 75 · 5311/00
Source: “Guide steel loads that are being lifted into position.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Guiding a suspended steel load means standing beneath it with hands and eyes on the lift.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Manufacturing beams according to blueprints or supervisor instructions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: beams, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 75 · 5311/00
Source: “Manufacture beams according to blueprints or supervisor instructions.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Making beams to a drawing is fabrication work carried out on machines in a workshop.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Signaling crane or hoist operators to lift these parts into place
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: crane, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 75 · 5311/00
Source: “Signal crane or hoist operators to lift these parts into place.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Signalling a crane driver means being on the ground watching the load in real time.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 1/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Cutting metal using shears
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: metal, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Cut metal using shears.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Cutting metal with shears is machine work done by hand on the material.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Fastening structural steel members to hoist cables
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: structural steel members, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Fasten structural steel members to hoist cables using chains, cables, or rope.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Slinging steel to hoist cables is rigging done by hand before every lift.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Manoeuvring completed roofing units into position for installation
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: completed roofing units, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Manoeuvre completed roofing units into position for installation.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Moving finished roofing units into position is heavy physical handling on the building.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Pulling push or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: push, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Pull, push, or pry structural steel members into approximate positions for bolting into place.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Pushing and prying steel into position is muscle work on the frame itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Using rope to guide structural steel members into position
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: rope, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 70 · 5311/00
Source: “Use rope to guide structural steel members into position.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Steadying a swinging steel member with a rope is done by a person standing on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Dismantling scaffolding, shoring, braces and temporary structures
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: braces, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 65 · 5311/00
Source: “Dismantle scaffolding, shoring, braces, and temporary structures.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Taking down scaffolding and props is physical work at height on site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Catching hot rivets in buckets using tongs
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: hot rivets, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 60 · 5311/00
Source: “Catch hot rivets in buckets using tongs.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Catching hot rivets with tongs is a hand skill performed right next to the work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Dismantling metalwork during demolitions
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: metalwork during demolitions, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 60 · 5311/00
Source: “Dismantle metalwork during demolitions.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Taking steelwork apart during a demolition is heavy physical work on the structure itself.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 1/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 2/4.
Holding rivets while riveters use air hammers to form heads on rivets
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: rivets while riveters use air hammers, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 60 · 5311/00
Source: “Hold rivets while riveters use air hammers to form heads on rivets.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Holding rivets against an air hammer is physical work with no screen-based version.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 0/4.
Placing blocks under reinforcement bars to hold the bars off the deck when reinforcing floors
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: blocks under reinforcement bars, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 60 · 5311/00
Source: “Place blocks under reinforcement bars to hold the bars off the deck when reinforcing floors.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Placing blocks under reinforcement is manual work on the deck.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Working from mobile elevated work platforms
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: mobile elevated work platforms, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 60 · 5311/00
Source: “Work from mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) to perform tasks at height.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Working from a raised platform at height is defined by physically being up there.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Erecting precast concrete components for infrastructure projects
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: precast concrete components, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 50 · 5311/00
Source: “Erect precast concrete components for infrastructure projects.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Erecting precast concrete units is heavy lifting and fixing done on the construction site.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.
Inserting sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges or valves
staying human
This work happens in the physical world: strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, in a real place. Software cannot follow it there.
importance 50 · 5311/00
Source: “Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled.” (UK task statement)
How this row was scored
Exposure score: 0 out of 100 (0–4 allowing for uncertainty): minimal exposure, high confidence.
Why it sits in this group: work that happens in the physical world.
The rating behind it: Fitting strips, wiring, gauges and valves into a structure is hands-on assembly work.
The five ratings: output a model can produce 0/4 · needs a body in a room 4/4 · needs an accountable person 0/4 · needs to be trusted in the moment 0/4 · how much data exists 1/4.

What this job pays, and how many people do it

Median pay: £35,800a year, before tax, the middle of the range, so half earn more and half earn less.ashe-t14, 2025 · ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025)Provisional, because the ONS revises this figure in the autumn.
How we know this
Source: ashe-t14
Reference period: ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025)
Rounding: Shown to the nearest £100. The exact published figure is in the downloadable dataset. We do not render pounds the survey cannot support.
People doing this job: 8,200in the UK, 2026.nomis-aps · Apr 2025-Mar 2026 (latest APS 12-month period)This headcount comes from a survey, not a census, so treat it as a good estimate rather than an exact count.

What is deliberately not here: a forecast of how many of these jobs exist in ten years. Where an official projection exists for a market we publish it with its vintage; where it does not, we leave the space empty rather than borrow the other country’s number.

Why this is shifting

The reason is boringly specific. Most of what is shifting here is the same call made over and over on specifications, where the right answer is already known. The rows above are exactly that shape: reading specifications or blueprints to determine the locations. What it cannot do is be there in the room, and that is still where columns, beams and girders get done. Which is why this page talks about your tasks changing, not your job ending.

Your move

Over a pint: what I’d tell you if you were my friend

Start with what does not change: connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors is the middle of this job, and the evidence on this page says it stays with a person.

So, given all that: 0% of this job's task weight sits in rows the software is already learning, 4% in rows that change shape rather than disappear, and 96% in rows it is nowhere near. That is the position, measured across 31 scored tasks. It is not a forecast about you.

So the thing worth your attention is not the job going away. It is the layer around it. Reading specifications or blueprints to determine the locations is the part turning into software, and being the person who understands that layer is worth money.

This week: one thing

Ask the one question. Find whoever is bringing new software into your workplace (the manager, the office, whoever runs the system) and ask them what it is meant to do to specifications, and what it is not meant to touch. Ten minutes, this week, before anyone decides it for you.

What you end up holding: a straight answer about what is actually being rolled out, and when
How long it takes: ten minutes

If there’s nobody obvious to ask, or you’d rather not ask your manager: Put the same question to your union rep, your shift lead or the person who has been there longest, in person, over a break. Same ten minutes, same answer, and you will usually get a straighter one. Write down what they say. The note is the artifact, and it tells you whether columns, beams and girders are in scope or not. Nothing to log into, no licence needed.

Over the next 90 days

Get inside the tool rollout rather than waiting for it. Over the next ninety days, ask to be in the group that tests, checks or signs off whatever new system arrives near reading specifications or blueprints to determine the locations. It is usually an unglamorous seat that nobody fights for, and it is the one that decides how the software is used on your job rather than to it.

Over the next 12 months

On this evidence I would not retrain out of this job, and I will say that plainly rather than hedge it. The task list here is dominated by work that stays with a person. What I would do with a year is get formally recognised for the layer around it (the systems, the compliance, the planning), so you are the one who understands the software instead of the one it is done to. Before you pay for anything, spend an hour with National Careers Service. It is free and government-funded, and it is listed below with the rest of the free routes.

The roads out of here, and why I am not sending you down them

I looked at the obvious moves out of this job, and here is what I found.

I checked the 12 nearest UK occupations to steel erectors (nearest by the work that AI is not taking, not by job title), and none of them survived. The closest was scaffolders, stagers and riggers: only about 18% of its durable work is work you already do. And on the numbers you do not need one. This job scores 2/100 here, with only 0% of the task list in the top band, and “connect columns, beams, and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from…” is not work that hands over cleanly. None of them beats deepening what you already have.

How that was checked: this job was compared against all 412 UK occupations in this release on their official task statements, and the 12 nearest were examined one by one. A move that turns on an industry, an employer or a qualification rather than on the work itself will not show up in a check like that. And this release carries no licence register, so anything you are weighing needs that looked up separately.

3 moves I checked and rejected

These are the obvious-looking jumps. They are here with their reasons rather than quietly dropped, because the ones that fail are worth knowing about. It is one less thing to turn over at night.

Scaffolders, stagers and riggers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour because one of your tasks is on their list in the same words: “construct structures by assembling pre-made metal frames, scaffolding, and platforms”. Across the whole of both lists that adds up to about 18% of the work in that job the software is not taking.
Why I am not recommending it: You would be starting most of it from nothing: about 18% of the durable work in that job is work you do today, and the rest you would be learning while the bills carried on.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Sheet metal workers
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already cut metal using shears, and their equivalent is to set up and operate shears to form and assemble metal components. Across both published task lists that is about 5% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 5% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step. It is a pay cut, in those words: £32,207 against your £35,824, 10.1% less (ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional (both)). Retraining to earn less is a decision, not advice.
Look at that job’s page anyway →
Welding trades
Why it looked obvious: It came up as a near neighbour on the work AI is not taking: you already weld steel pieces using welding equipment, and their equivalent is to operate welding safety equipment to prevent accidents. Across both published task lists that is about 2% of the durable work in that job.
Why I am not recommending it: Almost none of it is work you already do: about 2% of the durable side of that job. That is a different job, not a next step.
Look at that job’s page anyway →

What I’d stop worrying about

A friend tells you what not to spend fear on. This is that list.

The headline number you read somewhere
The big “X% of jobs” figures are about the whole economy, not about you. The number that describes your job is on this page: 0% of its task weight, across 31 scored tasks. Every row behind it is printed above with the source. Check ours; ignore theirs.
The headlines about your trade disappearing
They are usually about the technology, not the timetable. Changes to work like connecting columns, beams and girders with bolts, following blueprints and instructions from supervisors arrive through rules, insurance and money, slowly and visibly. This page tracks the task evidence and will move when it moves.
Retraining out of a job that is holding up
On this evidence I would not spend money leaving. Spend it on the layer around the job instead: the tools, the paperwork, the planning. That is where the change actually is.
The “obvious” next job everyone suggests
I checked the obvious moves and most of them did not survive. The reasons are printed with the routes above, including the pay and the gate. A move that fails on the numbers is worth knowing about so you can stop turning it over at night.

You are reading the United Kingdom figures

The United States splits this work across more than one official group, of which Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers is the closest. The pay and employment figures are not directly comparable, and we do not average them together.

Switch to the United States page →partial match

The other groups this work is counted across:

In US official statistics this job is counted as Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, Structural Iron and Steel Workers and Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters. Pay is shown separately for each of those groups (medians cannot be averaged together), while the task list and the scores on this page are for this group only.

Your route through this

Where to go next, and what it costs

Free, and complete

The moves above cost nothing. These are the real services that go with them: public, government-funded, and free at the point of use. Nothing on this page is behind an email address or a payment.

In England:
National Careers Service
A free hour with a government-funded careers adviser is worth more than another evening of reading. In England that's the National Careers Service.
Free, government-funded
- Discover your skills and careers (the skills assessment)
In England:
National Careers Service - Find a course
Search what's actually running near you before you spend anything.
Free to search; individual courses vary
In England:
Free courses for jobs (Level 3 qualifications)
A free Level 3 qualification you already qualify for beats a paid course you don't need.
Free for eligible adults
In England:
Skills Bootcamps
Free, up to 16 weeks, and you get a job interview at the end. In England these are Skills Bootcamps - search what's running near you.
Free for eligible adults in England
- Skills Bootcamps - what they are and who can do them (DfE, Skills for Careers)
- Skills Bootcamps - JobHelp (DWP)
In Scotland:
My World of Work (Skills Development Scotland)
In Scotland it's My World of Work, from Skills Development Scotland.
Free, publicly funded
- Skills Development Scotland
In Wales:
Careers Wales
In Wales it's Careers Wales.
Free, Welsh Government-funded
In Northern Ireland:
Careers Service Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland it's the Careers Service on nidirect.
Free, Department for the Economy-funded

Why there is no community here

Collab365, who build this site, run paid Spaces for a small number of subjects, and none of them is built for this job. We are not going to point you at the nearest one and call it a fit.

So the free services listed on this page are the whole answer, and it is the same answer we would give a friend.

Noted, and thank you. We’ll email you if a Space for steel erectors launches. Nothing else.

That did not look like an email address, so nothing was saved. Have another go below.

We could not save that. The fault is ours, not yours, and your address was not stored. Please try again later.

No Space for steel erectors yet. Should there be one?

Collab365 Spaces is built by the same people as this site. We find the problems that AI and automation are creating inside one kind of work, then solve them as short courses, briefings and Blueprints. Each Space is the community too, so the research and the people doing your job are in the same place.

What a Space actually is, in full

Collab365 launches new communities where the need is real. If one for steel erectors existed, with researched problems, courses and people in the same boat, would you want in?

Your email

We use your email address for one thing: to tell you if a Space for steel erectors launches. We never sell it, never use it for unrelated marketing, and every email has a one-click unsubscribe. Our privacy policy has the full version.

This unlocks nothing. Every figure, every row and every step on this page is already yours, whether you fill this in or not.

No deadline on any of this. The page will still be here, and the data is refreshed on a published schedule rather than when someone wants a headline.

Questions people ask about this job

Will AI replace Steel erectors?: Not as a job, but it is already doing parts of the work. Across the 31 official task statements scored for Steel erectors (United Kingdom, SOC 5311), 0% of the importance-weighted core work is made of tasks today's AI could already do most of. The overall exposure score is 2 out of 100 (range 2–7, band: minimal). That is a statement about tasks, not about headcount: this measures what AI could do, not whether any employer adopts it, whether the law allows it, or whether doing the routine parts faster creates more demand for the human parts. Figures are from release 2026-q4.1.
Which tasks in “Steel erectors” can AI already do?: The highest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Read specifications or blueprints to determine the locations, quantities, or sizes of materials required” (43/100, partial); “Follow instructions on engineering drawings” (10/100, minimal); “Verify vertical and horizontal alignment of structural steel members, using appropriate equipment” (9/100, minimal). Each score comes from five published 0–4 ratings turned into a number by a published formula, and each carries the model's one-sentence reason on the page.
Which tasks in “Steel erectors” stay human?: About 96% of this job's task weight sits in work that scores low for AI exposure. The lowest-scoring tasks in release 2026-q4.1 are: “Insert sealing strips, wiring, insulating material, ladders, flanges, gauges, or valves, depending on types of structures being assembled” (0/100, minimal); “Erect precast concrete components for infrastructure projects” (0/100, minimal); “Work from mobile elevated work platforms (MEWPs) to perform tasks at height” (0/100, minimal). Low scores usually mean the task needs a body in a room, a legally accountable human, or trust built in real time. Those are the three things the scoring rubric treats as gates rather than obstacles.
What should someone working in “Steel erectors” do about AI?: Start from the ledger rather than the headline: 0% of this job's weighted core work is exposed, and roughly 96% is not. The practical move is to spend more of your week on the tasks that score low, the ones above, and to get fluent at directing AI through the tasks that score high, because those are the parts that change whether or not you are ready for them. This page does not predict your job, and nothing here is career advice tailored to you: the score describes the occupation, not the person.
How is the AI exposure score for Steel erectors calculated?: Each official task statement for the occupation is rated on five published 0–4 dimensions (output replicability, physical embodiment, licensed accountability, real-time human trust, and data availability) by claude-opus-5 using scoring prompt task_scoring_v1.0. The model never writes the score; a published formula turns the five ratings into a 0–100 number, so every score can be recomputed by hand. The occupation figure is the importance-weighted mean across 31 scored tasks. The prompt, the rubric, the formula and the full dataset are published at https://futureproof.collab365.com/method and https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1 under CC BY 4.0.

Where these numbers come from

About the data on this page

Provisional, because the ONS revises this figure in the autumn.
This headcount comes from a survey, not a census, so treat it as a good estimate rather than an exact count.
The match between this job and its counterpart in the other country is partial, so the two pages count slightly different groups of people.
11 of this occupation's scored task statements carry a score that was measured under a different occupation's context, because the statement is shared between jobs and has only been scored once so far. Each one names the occupation it was measured under in the free routes below; none is presented as a measurement for this job.
Task clusters are not derived in this release, so the task-cluster field is empty and no Collab365 Space routing is attached to this occupation yet.

Task statements: gaisi-indexProcessing: catalogue-bridge → ssc-relatedness-weighting → task-scoring → score-aggregation
Task weights: gaisi-index (relatedness)
Scores: Rubric task_scoring_v1.0, model claude-opus-5, computed 2026-08-05.
Pay and employment: ashe-t14 (ASHE 2025 provisional (reference April 2025))nomis-aps (Apr 2025-Mar 2026 (latest APS 12-month period))

Figures on this page come from release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Every release keeps its own permanent address, so a figure you cite in March is still there, unchanged, in November.

The plain-English wording on this page is assembled directly from the task statements and the published ratings, not written by hand for this occupation. That is why it is specific, and it is also why we say so.

The routes and free resources further up are today’s, not the release’s (last reviewed 2026-08-05). A route is an offer, not a historical fact, so it moves on its own clock.

How we score a job Download this release Look up another job

Using these figures?

Cite this

Everything on this site is published under CC BY 4.0. Quote it, chart it, sell something built on it. Just say where it came from, and cite the dated release rather than the site, so the figure you quote stays checkable.

Plain text

Collab365 (2026). Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1 (methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0). https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1. Licensed CC BY 4.0. Built with O*NET data (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); ONS data (Open Government Licence v3.0); GAISI task framework (arXiv:2507.22748, MIT); BLS data (public domain).

BibTeX

@misc{collab365futureproof2026q41,
  title        = {Collab365 Futureproof: task-level AI exposure for US and UK occupations, release 2026-q4.1},
  author       = {{Collab365}},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1},
  note         = {Release 2026-q4.1, methodVersion 2.0.0, promptVersion task_scoring_v1.0, CC BY 4.0}
}

Permalink

https://futureproof.collab365.com/data/2026-q4.1

Data as of release 2026-q4.1, published 2026-08-05. Releases never change after publication; when the figures move, a new dated release is published beside this one and this one stays exactly where it is.