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Carpet fitter and floor layer

Carpet fitters and floor layers fit carpets and vinyl tiles, and lay laminate and solid timber floors.

Annual Salary

£20,000 to £36,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

40 to 47 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends; as customers demand

1.1%
Future employment

There will be 1.1% fewer Carpet fitter and floor layer jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

As a carpet fitter or floor layer, you'll:

  • measure floor space to be covered and estimate the materials needed
  • remove old flooring and prepare the work area
  • fit underlay, carpets, tiles, vinyl or wooden flooring
  • spray floor coverings with protective coatings
  • put furniture back and trim and re-hang doors if removed
  • follow safety guidelines when working with glues, solvents and other chemicals

Working environment

You may need to wear protective clothing.

You could work at a client's home or at a client's business.

Your working environment may be physically demanding.

You can get into this job through:

  • an apprenticeship
  • applying directly
  • training with a professional body
Apprenticeship

You can apply for a place on a Floorlayer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

This can take up to 3 years to complete and is a mix of on-the-job training and off-site study.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Direct application

You could apply directly to work as a carpet fitter and floor layer.

Employers will expect you to:

  • have practical skills
  • be good with numbers for making measurements and working out quantities
  • have good customer service skills, especially for working in people's homes

Other routes

You could take a training course through a professional industry body like the Flooring Industry Training Association or the Contract Flooring Association.

This may help you to find work as a trainee with a carpet fitting and floor laying company.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

  • You may need a driving licence for some jobs.

More information

Career tips

You may need to travel to other parts of the country for some jobs, especially on commercial and industrial contracts.

Further information

You can find more details about training and working in carpet fitting and floor laying from:Go Construct; Flooring Industry Training Association

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With experience, you could become a flooring team supervisor, estimator or contracts manager.

You could move into related areas like training, buying or product sales.

You could also set up your own business, laying carpets and installing floors in domestic and commercial properties.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

You'll need:

  • to be thorough and pay attention to detail
  • the ability to work well with others
  • the ability to work well with your hands
  • customer service skills
  • patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
  • the ability to use your initiative
  • the ability to work on your own
  • knowledge of maths
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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