Top 12 Laborer Skills to Put on Your Resume

In today’s job market, the right skills can tip the balance. Pack your resume with proof. Show you can do the hard stuff, safely, quickly, without drama. Below you’ll find 12 core laborer skills employers scan for—and how to sharpen them so your experience reads as ready on day one.

Laborer Skills

1. Forklift Operation
2. Welding
3. Carpentry
4. Masonry
5. Plumbing
6. Electrical Wiring
7. Heavy Machinery (e.g., Bulldozer, Excavator)
8. Scaffolding Setup
9. Concrete Finishing
10. Landscaping
11. Safety Compliance
12. Blueprint Reading

1. Forklift Operation

Forklift operation means moving, stacking, and staging materials with a powered industrial truck in warehouses, yards, and jobsites. Precision steering, safe lifting, and tight space awareness—core to getting work done without delays or dings.

Why It's Important

It reduces strain, speeds material flow, and cuts incident risk. A trained operator protects people and product, and keeps schedules intact.

How to Improve Forklift Operation Skills

Focus on control, safety, and flow:

1. Get certified and refreshed: Complete formal training with evaluations; renew regularly per site policy and applicable standards (such as OSHA 1910.178).
2. Pre-shift inspections: Brakes, horn, lights, forks, chains, tires, fluids. Tag out if anything’s off.
3. Know the load: Check weight, center of gravity, and capacity plate. Keep mast tilted back when traveling.
4. Drive smart: Slow at intersections, sound horn, maintain clear sightlines, no riders, seatbelt on.
5. Staging finesse: Square pallets, even fork spacing, smooth lift/lower, avoid abrupt moves that tip or shift loads.
6. Communicate: Hand signals or radios with spotters; confirm eye contact before moving.

How to Display Forklift Operation Skills on Your Resume

2. Welding

Welding joins metals or thermoplastics by heating base materials (and often filler) to create a fused, durable bond.

Why It's Important

It builds and repairs the skeleton of jobsites—frames, rails, brackets, structural members—where strength and longevity matter.

How to Improve Welding Skills

Better beads, fewer defects:

1. Prioritize safety: Proper PPE, ventilation, fire watch, and housekeeping. Inspect leads and cylinders.
2. Practice intentionally: Vary position (flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead), travel speed, amperage, and materials.
3. Master fundamentals: Clean prep, fit-up, tack spacing, heat control, consistent arc length.
4. Know your processes: Understand when to use SMAW, GMAW/MIG, FCAW, or GTAW/TIG and the trade-offs.
5. Troubleshoot defects: Identify porosity, undercut, lack of fusion, warping—and correct your technique or settings.
6. Verify quality: Visual inspection, bend tests, and following WPS when required.

How to Display Welding Skills on Your Resume

3. Carpentry

Carpentry covers cutting, shaping, joining, and installing wood and composite materials for structures, framing, finishes, and fixtures.

Why It's Important

It’s the backbone of build-outs—walls straight, doors square, trim clean. Good carpentry keeps projects tight and inspection-ready.

How to Improve Carpentry Skills

Measure twice, learn always:

1. Tool fluency: Safe, accurate use of saws, planes, levels, nailers; keep blades sharp and tools calibrated.
2. Layout accuracy: Snap true lines, check plumb/level/square, understand reveals and tolerances.
3. Material sense: Species, moisture content, fasteners, adhesives—match the material to the task.
4. Joinery basics: Strong, appropriate joints (butt, lap, mortise and tenon, pocket screws) for the load and look.
5. Finish quality: Sanding sequence, filler use, and edge detail for clean results.
6. Safety habits: Guards on, dust control, hearing and eye protection, stable workholding.

How to Display Carpentry Skills on Your Resume

4. Masonry

Masonry builds with brick, block, stone, and mortar. Laborers support mixing, staging, cutting, laying, and keeping lines true.

Why It's Important

Durability, fire resistance, and a clean look—masonry delivers all three when done right. It’s steady work and in demand.

How to Improve Masonry Skills

Level, plumb, repeat:

1. Consistent mortar: Mix to spec, watch workability and set times based on weather.
2. Clean beds and joints: Even spreads, full joints, correct tooling for weather resistance.
3. String lines and levels: Check coursing constantly; correct drift early.
4. Cut clean: Use proper blades, wet cutting when needed, and square edges for tight fits.
5. Site setup: Stage materials close and safe; keep a tidy line to work faster and safer.
6. Body mechanics: Lift smart, rotate tasks, and pace to avoid fatigue-related errors.

How to Display Masonry Skills on Your Resume

5. Plumbing

Plumbing installs and maintains systems for water supply, gas, and waste, ensuring safe flow in, safe flow out.

Why It's Important

Hygiene, comfort, safety. Reliable plumbing keeps buildings livable and compliant—work that never goes out of style.

How to Improve Plumbing Skills

Make it watertight, every time:

1. Know the code: Learn local plumbing codes and common inspections; size fixtures and vents correctly.
2. Pipe selection: Match copper, PEX, CPVC, steel, or cast iron to pressure, temperature, and application.
3. Joint quality: Clean cuts, proper deburring, square fits; sweat, glue, crimp, or thread to spec.
4. Pressure testing: Test before close-up; fix weeps early.
5. Fixture setting: Plumb, level, and sealed. No rocking toilets, no whistling valves.
6. Safety: Lockout/tagout for gas and water, proper ventilation, and PPE for soldering and chemicals.

How to Display Plumbing Skills on Your Resume

6. Electrical Wiring

Electrical wiring connects power sources, circuits, and devices safely so lighting and equipment run dependably.

Why It's Important

Done right, electricity hums along unseen. Done wrong, it bites. Safe wiring protects people and property while keeping operations smooth.

How to Improve Electrical Wiring Skills

Plan, protect, prove:

1. De-energize first: Lock out and verify with a tester. No assumptions.
2. Map the circuit: Load calculations, breaker sizing, and routing that respects code and heat.
3. Right materials: Correct conductor size, insulation type, and device ratings for environment and load.
4. Clean terminations: Strip correctly, torque to spec, respect color codes, maintain box fill limits.
5. GFCI/AFCI where required: Especially in damp or dwelling areas per the latest code cycle.
6. Label and document: Clear panel schedules and device labels save time and prevent mistakes later.
7. Test everything: Continuity, polarity, and voltage under load before energizing fully.
8. Know your limits: In many jurisdictions, certain work requires a licensed electrician—follow local law and site policy.

How to Display Electrical Wiring Skills on Your Resume

7. Heavy Machinery (e.g., Bulldozer, Excavator)

Bulldozers push. Excavators dig and lift. These machines turn massive tasks into manageable shifts.

Why It's Important

They multiply output, reduce strain injuries, and keep projects on schedule. With good operators, the site moves like a coordinated crew of giants.

How to Improve Heavy Machinery (e.g., Bulldozer, Excavator) Skills

Operate like a pro, maintain like a caretaker:

1. Formal training: Machine-specific instruction and supervised seat time; know controls and limits.
2. Walkarounds: Pre- and post-shift checks—fluids, tracks/tires, pins, hoses, lights, alarms. Fix small issues before they grow teeth.
3. Smooth technique: Feather controls, avoid sudden swings, keep loads low when traveling, mind the swing radius.
4. Use spotters: Hand signals, radios, and clear line-of-sight. No guesswork around people or utilities.
5. Grade and slope awareness: Respect slope limits, use benches, never side-load on unstable ground.
6. Leverage technology: Telematics and grade control can reduce rework and fuel burn when available.
7. Shutdown discipline: Park safely, lower attachments, relieve pressure, lock out when servicing.

How to Display Heavy Machinery (e.g., Bulldozer, Excavator) Skills on Your Resume

8. Scaffolding Setup

Scaffolding provides temporary, stable platforms so crews can work at height safely and efficiently.

Why It's Important

Access without risk. Proper setup prevents falls, collapses, and the ugly surprises that stop a job cold.

How to Improve Scaffolding Setup Skills

Build it right, every section:

1. Training and authorization: Understand fall protection, load limits, and correct assembly per manufacturer guidance and applicable standards.
2. Base preparation: Level, solid footing with base plates and mudsills; tie-ins and bracing as required.
3. Component inspection: Reject bent frames, damaged planks, worn couplers, and corroded pins.
4. Guarding and access: Install guardrails, toe boards, and safe ladders or stair towers; keep platforms clear of debris.
5. Daily checks: Inspect after weather events, trades work, or any impact. Tag systems to signal status.
6. Fall protection: Use harnesses where needed and anchor correctly.

How to Display Scaffolding Setup Skills on Your Resume

9. Concrete Finishing

Concrete finishing shapes and textures fresh concrete for strength, flatness, and slip resistance. Tools matter; timing matters more.

Why It's Important

A smooth, properly cured surface resists wear, sheds water, and looks right. Bad finishing locks in problems you can’t sand away.

How to Improve Concrete Finishing Skills

Control the clock and the surface:

1. Right mix, right day: Understand slump, admixtures, and weather effects on set times.
2. Place without segregation: Move concrete evenly; avoid overworking with water.
3. Consolidate correctly: Vibrate or tamp to remove air without bringing paste to the top.
4. Screed true: Straight edges, steady sawing motion, check elevations often.
5. Float, then finish: Bull float early to embed aggregate; trowel after bleed water evaporates to avoid dusting.
6. Edges and joints: Clean edges and timely control joints to limit random cracking.
7. Cure properly: Keep moisture in—wet cure, curing compounds, or coverings—to develop strength and reduce shrinkage.

How to Display Concrete Finishing Skills on Your Resume

10. Landscaping

Landscaping builds and maintains outdoor spaces—planting, grading, mulching, pruning, and installing hardscape that holds up to weather and use.

Why It's Important

It boosts curb appeal, supports drainage and soil health, and creates spaces people actually enjoy.

How to Improve Landscaping Skills

Design with the site, not against it:

1. Site assessment: Sun, wind, soil type, drainage paths—let conditions guide plant and hardscape choices.
2. Soil health: Amend for structure and nutrients; test when in doubt.
3. Smart plant selection: Choose climate-appropriate, often native, drought-tolerant varieties to reduce maintenance.
4. Install correctly: Proper hole depth and width, root teasing, firm backfill, and good watering-in.
5. Mulch and edge: Retain moisture, suppress weeds, protect roots; keep mulch off trunks.
6. Efficient irrigation: Drip where possible, zone by plant needs, check for leaks and coverage.
7. Ongoing care: Prune with purpose, scout for pests, and feed judiciously.

How to Display Landscaping Skills on Your Resume

11. Safety Compliance

Safety compliance means following health and safety rules, training, and procedures to prevent injuries and illnesses on the job.

Why It's Important

It protects lives, avoids fines, and keeps work humming along without stoppages. Culture matters—habits save hands.

How to Improve Safety Compliance Skills

Make safety visible and constant:

1. Regular training: Cover general and task-specific hazards; refresh often and document attendance.
2. PPE readiness: Provide, wear, and maintain PPE appropriate to the task; replace when damaged.
3. Inspections and housekeeping: Daily walk-throughs, tidy workzones, and prompt hazard correction.
4. Clear procedures: Written SOPs, signage, and toolbox talks that stick to real risks, not fluff.
5. Open reporting: Near-miss reporting without blame; fix root causes, not just symptoms.
6. Emergency prep: Drills, first-aid readiness, and posted contacts/routes.
7. Continuous improvement: Track incidents and trends; adjust controls and training accordingly.

How to Display Safety Compliance Skills on Your Resume

12. Blueprint Reading

Blueprint reading is decoding drawings, symbols, and notes to build what’s designed—dimensions, materials, and the sequence that ties it all together.

Why It's Important

It prevents rework, aligns trades, and keeps the build consistent with intent. You’re not guessing; you’re executing.

How to Improve Blueprint Reading Skills

See the whole, then the parts:

1. Symbols and legends: Learn common architectural, structural, and MEP symbols and abbreviations.
2. Views and details: Move between plans, elevations, sections, and detail callouts to understand assemblies.
3. Scale proficiency: Use scale rulers accurately; verify drawing scales match print notes.
4. Dimension reading: Follow dimension strings logically; note centerlines, offsets, and tolerances.
5. Specs and schedules: Cross-check notes, finish schedules, and structural schedules with the drawings.
6. Field practice: Walk the site with plans, mark up RFIs, and confirm as-built adjustments.

How to Display Blueprint Reading Skills on Your Resume