STONEMASON Profession

The profession of the stonemason is as eternal as stone itself, carrying within it both tradition and the future. The field of activity is "Applied Arts and Crafts."

PROFESSION: STONEMASON

CODE: 215060 – SECOND DEGREE OF PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATION
PROFESSIONAL FIELD: "APPLIED ARTS AND CRAFTS"

SPECIALTIES WITHIN THE PROFESSION

021403 Stonemasonry –

second degree of professional qualification. Training is conducted to acquire knowledge, skills, and competencies related to the design and production of sculpture, as well as architectural elements and structures, memorials and lettering, and cladding executed in various types of stone.

1. Core Activities of the Stonemason

- Machine or manual stone processing.
- Production of industrial, architectural, and artistic products.
- Execution of installation activities for vertical cladding, balustrades, staircases, and paving, including cobblestones. The stonemason designs and executes sculptures (portraits, figures, figural compositions, monumental works, reliefs), as well as architectural elements and facilities (drinking fountains, fountains, park furniture, etc.), memorials, and lettering using various types of stone.

2. Scope of the Profession

In civil and industrial construction, as well as in studios, workshops, and plants for the production of artistic objects and those specialized in stone processing, stone products, and rock cladding materials; in companies for the extraction of rock blocks by open-pit or underground methods and their processing for construction, architecture, sculpture, and souvenir production.

3. Average Salary for the Profession

The High School of Stone Processing in the village of Kunino maintains excellent contacts with industry organizations and associations; according to analysis by the Professional Association of Stonemasons, the remuneration is categorized as that of a well-paid profession.

4. Resources and Materials

Limestone, marble, granite, and other types of rock materials. In practice, hammers for coarse, industrial, and precise decorative processing are used, along with chisels, points, bush hammers, pitching tools, calipers for measuring and scaling, protractors, pointing machines, straight and plumb wooden rulers, electric hand-held stone-working tools, as well as stationary cutting machines, polishing and milling machines, lathes, gang saws, etc.

5. Career Development Opportunities

Those who have acquired a second degree of professional qualification in the "Stonemason" profession may continue their education to acquire a third degree of professional qualification in other related professions in the field of "Arts" or the professional field of "Construction," with part of the mandatory professional training being recognized.

6. Working with Stone in Everyday Life

For the home interior – fireplaces, internal staircases, colonnades, and even furniture.
For the home exterior – house facades, where architects increasingly incorporate elements of the creative credo taught at the professional high school. This includes brackets, capitals, columns, vases, balustrades, fountains, drinking fountains, cascades, and even the complete massive construction of a home from stone.

REQUIRED QUALITIES AND EDUCATION FOR THE PROFESSION:

State educational requirements for acquiring professional qualification:
http://www.mon.bg/ – SER for acquiring professional qualification by profession.

Required Personal Qualities

In the performance of their duties, a stonemason must be dexterous, patient, and persistent. Physical endurance is necessary for carrying and lifting rock materials. They must be mentally resilient when performing repetitive, routine tasks, ready for teamwork, and compliant with the requirements of regulations, ordinances, and other documents containing work instructions.

Required Knowledge and Skills

A stonemason must be able to read and execute work projects and drawings, create diagrams and sketches, and offer various conceptual solutions to clients. It is necessary to possess creative and artistic ability and imagination, dexterity, and the skill to work with various stone-processing tools, a readiness to master plastic skills and apply new techniques, a sense of form and volume, and physical strength in the hands.

REQUIRED LEVEL OF EDUCATION

The minimum entry-level education for acquiring a professional qualification in the profession is completed primary education. Those who successfully pass the state exams in the theory and practice of the profession receive a Certificate of Professional Qualification.

Subjects Studied

Drawing, Modeling, Perspective, Anatomy, Sculptural Compositions, Stonemasonry, Geology and Petrography, Technology, Extraction and Processing of Rock Materials, Machines and Equipment for Rock Processing, Construction and Architecture, Professional Practice, etc.

The high school trains students in the protected specialty: code 2150601 "Stonemasonry," Profession: code 215060 "Stonemason," Professional Field: code 215 "Applied Arts and Crafts" from 8th to 12th grade. At the end of their five-year professional training, students receive a high school diploma and a certificate of professional qualification with a second degree of professional qualification (SPK). Students who have completed primary education (7th grade) and possess a certificate of completed primary education are eligible for admission. Admission to the high school is based on a successfully passed drawing entrance exam. Free drawing lessons are organized at the high school building to prepare for the entrance exam.