Overview
Tilers cover surfaces with tiles, and are employed across household jobs as one of the finishing touches to certain rooms, but especially kitchens and bathrooms, as well as in big construction projects and shops. Tilers tile walls and floors in kitchens, bathrooms, shops and restaurants, using materials like ceramics, slate and marble.
Activities
These are some of the things done by wall and floor tilers:
- Laying tiles onto walls and floors
- Working in places like houses, hospitals, swimming pools, offices, hotels, or schools
- Working from plans and designs
- Measuring the area to be tiled
- Working out what materials they will need
- Preparing the wall or floor, making sure it is clean and smooth
- Using a trowel and adhesive to stick new tiles on
- Making sure patterns match, and all tiles are straight
- Cutting tiles to fit round corners and pipes
- Using grout to fill the gaps between tiles
- Cleaning and polishing the tiles
Organisations
Wall and floor tilers can work for specialist tiling firms or building companies and also be self-employed.
Workplace
Wall and floor tilers go out to homes and workplaces. They mainly work indoors but can also tile outside.
Working Hours
Most wall and floor tilers work between 37 and 40 hours a week.
Salary
As a trainee, you could expect a salary of up to £14,000 per year.
Qualifications
There are no specific requirements to enter the profession, and many tilers begin as labourers before taking up a tiling apprenticeship so you may be able to start work as a site labourer or tiler’s ‘mate’ and do further training on the job to qualify as a tiler.
You could also apply for an apprenticeship. If you have an EHCP you may be able to apply under the DfE exemption which allows the apprentice to use Entry Level 3 English and Maths qualifications. The apprentice would have to be competent enough to successfully achieve all other aspects of the apprenticeship requirements, become occupationally competent and achieve Entry Level 3 in English and Maths before the end of their apprenticeship.
College – you could start off with a Certificate in Pathways to Construction in Entry Level 3 or Level 1.