The art of laying one brick on top of another looks deceptively simple, but those capable of mastering it are guaranteed a small fortune.
Bricklayers now find themselves in the same ranks as doctors and senior managers when it comes to earning capacity.
The so-called “brawn drain” has pushed the earnings of experienced bricklayers above the £100,000 a year threshold. 
Colleges are also particularly keen to recruit more females to bricklaying. 
While there is a widespread shortage in construction industry skills, with plasterers, joiners and electricians also in short supply, it is bricklaying that is the most undermanned of the traditional trades.
With many bricklayers now coming up for retirement – the average age of UK brickies is 59 – the undersupply is only likely to grow. 
Meanwhile, demand for housing and a pick-up in big projects, especially in London, has led to a 25 per cent rise in the number of brickies needed since 2008.
Many builders emigrated during the recession, and combined with a shortage of apprenticeships – at least until now – the sector is faced with “a serious structural supply problem” according to Deveral Smith, a specialist recruitment company that supplies bricklayers to the construction industry.
The spokesman warned while Government policies to underpin the housing market were pushing the country to the brink of “the biggest boom in its history”, little consideration had been given to sourcing the skills required to make it happen.
Essex colleges are moving to satisfy this demand.  Colchester Institute offers a two-year diploma course in bricklaying, leading to a level 2 diploma. 
John Mockler, marketing manager for Prospects College in south Essex, said women are also making steady in roads into this particular trade, as they are in other construction sectors.