A bricklayer who left school at 16 with no conventional qualifications says he’s earning 10,000 pounds ($13,000) a month and drives a 30,000 pound ($38,000) sportscar.
Kurt Malpass, now 26, was put on a course “for kids who don’t listen” at school but fell in love with bricklaying. He worked hard to become professionally qualified and honed his skills working for a company before going self-employed at 19 and buying his first 110,000 pound ($140,000) three-bedroom home.
Today, he earns up to 800 pounds ($1,000) per day and drives an Audi S8.
Mr. Malpass, from Tean, Staffordshire, England, says that after all these years, he still loves his trade and has no plans to stop. He posts videos about his work on social media, where he shares how he earns “1 pound a brick” and had never thought all of this was possible as a youngster with no GCSEs (General Certificate of Secondary Education).
“I’m quite clever but subjects like French, Spanish, and geography never interested me,” he said. “When I went to do bricklaying, I fell in love with it, and I was naturally good at it too. I bought my first house at 19. If you’re willing to work hard and put in the hours, you can earn ridiculous money.
“Being a bricklayer, people don’t look at you like you’re a clever person. People think it’s easy, and we’re overpaid for what we do—but it’s a skill, and not everyone can do it.”
Mr. Malpass struggled at school and was even excluded for his behavior in class. He was put on a vocational pathway and got his level-one qualification. He was such a dab hand at the work that he bypassed other levels of training and went straight to working on a site. Three years later, he was experienced enough to fly solo and has worked on everything from basic new builds to million-pound mansions.
Charging 62 pence ($0.79) per brick, he makes 500 pounds ($630) for a full day but can make up to 800 pounds ($1,000) if he works a long shift—and people think he’s lying when they find out how much he makes.
“When people see me doing it on TikTok they think it’s easy and that they could do it, but it’s not,” he said. “I also get a lot of comments saying, ‘My family member is a bricklayer, they don’t earn this money.’”
Mr. Malpass said he’s working his way up to being able to buy a Lamborghini and hopes to start investing in property as a second income too.
“I couldn’t imagine where I'd be without bricklaying,” he said. “I love it, I find it therapeutic.”
