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Craft and related trades workers · code 7133

Building structure cleaners

Building structure cleaners clean exterior surfaces of buildings and other structures, and remove soot from chimneys. Tasks include - (a) cleaning exterior surfaces of stone, brick, metal or similar materials by means of chemicals, or a jet of steam or sand applied under high pressure; (b) removing soot from flues, chimneys and connecting pipes; (c) removing asbestos, mould and fire-damaged surfaces from buildings. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Building exteriors cleaner - Chimney sweep - Sandblaster (building exteriors) Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Graffiti cleaner - 9129 - Water blaster - 9129

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 6 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

  • decontamination worker
  • chimney sweep
  • chimney sweep supervisor
  • building exterior cleaner
  • asbestos abatement worker

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

90.8
Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 9.2 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 9.2 = 90.8

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

This number is probably too high

This score only looks at AI tools like chatbots. It doesn't look at robots at all — and this is hands-on work, which is exactly where robots come in.

Have a look at the tasks below and judge for yourself. The ILO scored them low because a chatbot can't do them. Whether a machine with hands could is a different question, and we can't answer it yet.

The tasks behind the score

The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.

The task AI could do most of scores 10.3, while the average is 9.2. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.

  1. 10.3

    Cleaning exterior surfaces of stone, brick, metal or similar materials by means of chemicals, or a jet of steam or sand applied under high pressure

    Very Low
  2. 9

    Removing soot from flues, chimneys and connecting pipes

    Very Low
  3. 8.3

    Removing asbestos, mould and fire-damaged surfaces from buildings.

    Very Low

3 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's

from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting

Helped, or replaced?

The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.

3 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you
47.7
AI does it for you
17

Helping wins by 30.7 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 7119, 8112, 8116

Compared with similar jobs

There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” group, averaging 83.4. This one is above that.