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Recruitment · Cement Mason (Cement Finisher)

Hire a cement mason (cement finisher) in Québec.

We'll find you a carded, qualified cement mason (cement finisher) who's actually interested — not a pile of resumes. Permanent placement, 90-day guarantee, no surprise quotes.

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The trade

What a cement mason (cement finisher) does.

Cement masons prepare, place, repair, and finish concrete on a wide range of surfaces — floors, walls, sidewalks, and paving. They also apply surface treatments and install waterproofing membranes and products. The trade calls for precision, solid physical strength, and a good grasp of concrete's properties (setting time, hardness, waterproofing), plus the ability to read plans and specs.

Institutional-commercialCivil engineering and roadsResidentialIndustrial

CCQ rate

$45.27 – $49.15 / hour (journeyperson, by sector, April 26, 2026)

Hourly rates are set by the collective agreements of Québec's construction industry and vary by sector: $45.27/h in light residential, $48.28/h in heavy residential, $48.55/h in institutional-commercial and industrial and $49.15/h in civil engineering and roads (journeyperson rate, effective April 26, 2026). Apprentices earn a percentage of that rate depending on their apprenticeship period. Official grids published by the ACQ (residential and institutional-commercial-industrial) and the ACRGTQ (civil engineering and roads).

Source: official ACQ and ACRGTQ rate grids.

Why it's tight

The pool is thin. Speed makes the difference.

The CCQ rates job prospects for cement masons as excellent: demand is stable, but very low labour availability, significant workforce aging, and too few new graduates are creating real needs in the market. In 2024, 3,872 cement masons were active on Quebec job sites and 1,092 companies were recruiting them — a sign of a tight market. Only 305 new apprentices were admitted into the trade in 2024, below the 2020-2023 annual average of 313. Among journeypersons, the average age is 42.8 and 20% are 55 or older, pointing to a coming wave of retirements. Interregional mobility for the trade reaches 17%, slightly above the 16% average across all trades.

That's exactly where Aplomb wins: Audrey activates candidates in under 2 minutes, 24/7. While others call back the next day, your cement mason (cement finisher) is already talking to us.

What we check

Before it lands on your desk.

Valid CCQ competency certificate (apprentice or journeyperson) — mandatory to work on job sites governed by the R-20 Act
ASP Construction card (general health and safety on job sites) — required to obtain the CCQ competency certificate
Completed DEP in Concrete Preparation and Finishing (5343) or a CCQ-recognized equivalent
Good grasp of concrete's properties (setting time, hardness, waterproofing) and the ability to read plans and specs
Solid physical strength, endurance, precision, and experience in the target sector (institutional-commercial, civil engineering and roads, residential, or industrial)

Competency card

How a cement mason (cement finisher) qualifies.

Cement masons must hold a CCQ competency certificate to work on job sites governed by the R-20 Act. The apprentice certificate (CCA) is earned after completing the DEP in Concrete Preparation and Finishing (5343, 900 hours) and presenting a job guarantee of at least 150 hours over 3 consecutive months with a CCQ-registered employer. The apprenticeship covers 2 periods of 2,000 hours each (4,000 hours total), after which the apprentice is admitted to the provincial qualification exam leading to the journeyperson certificate (CCC). The ratio on the books is 1 journeyperson per apprentice in residential, and 2 journeypersons per apprentice in industrial, institutional-commercial, and civil engineering and roads. On site, a 2nd apprentice can be supervised if one of them is in their final apprenticeship period or is a woman.

Frequently asked questions

Hiring a cement mason (cement finisher), plainly.

How do I check that a cement mason I want to hire is in good standing with the CCQ?

You can verify a worker's competency certificate directly through CCQ's online services. It's a quick step to run before hiring — a worker without a valid certificate (CCA apprentice or CCC journeyperson) can't legally work on your CCQ-regulated sites. Also confirm they hold their ASP Construction card (general health and safety on job sites), a mandatory requirement to obtain the CCQ competency certificate. The market is competitive: with 3,872 active cement masons in 2024 and 1,092 companies recruiting at the same time, make sure your offer reflects experience in the target sector (institutional-commercial, civil engineering and roads, residential, or industrial) to attract the right candidates quickly.

How many apprentice cement masons can I have per journeyperson on my site?

In residential, the ratio on the books is 1 journeyperson per apprentice. In industrial, institutional-commercial, and civil engineering and roads, the ratio on the books is 2 journeypersons per apprentice. On site, the ratio must be at least 1 journeyperson per apprentice daily. For each journeyperson you employ, you can supervise one additional apprentice — up to a maximum of two apprentices — if one of them is in their final apprenticeship period or one is a woman; these two conditions don't stack. The trade has 2 apprenticeship periods of 2,000 hours, so this flexibility applies (unlike single-period trades). Always check the current ratios on ccq.org before planning your staffing.

Where do I find qualified cement masons in Quebec? Is the market tight?

Yes, the market is tight. In 2024, 1,092 companies were recruiting cement masons for 3,872 active workers, and only 305 new apprentices were admitted — below the 313-per-year average for 2020-2023. The CCQ describes labour availability as very low and rates job prospects as excellent. The most effective moves: post with training centres offering the DEP in Concrete Preparation and Finishing (Capitale-Nationale, the Laurentians, Montreal), and work with a construction-focused recruiting agency that knows the pool of available journeypersons. Some of the pressure is demographic: among journeypersons, the average age is 42.8 and 20% are 55 or older. Investing in in-house apprentice training also helps build your pipeline.

Why Aplomb

Why not a generalist agency?

Hiring a cement mason (cement finisher) isn't something you wing. CCQ specialization changes what you get.

Card verified

We read the CCQ card.

We verify the competency card — apprentice (CCA) or journeyperson (CCC) — before we send you anyone. A generalist doesn't know the difference; on the job site, it changes everything.

Ratios & sectors

We know your ratios.

Your sectors — institutional-commercial, civil engineering and roads, residential, industrial — each have their own apprentice/journeyperson ratio rules. A wrong ratio on the books means a stopped job site. We know them.

Construction only

Zero scatter.

We recruit CCQ-carded construction trades in Québec — not 40 industries at once. It's the talent pool we work every single day.

Learn more about the cement mason (cement finisher) trade →

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