Annual Salary
£21,000 to £35,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Embalmers preserve and prepare bodies for burial or cremation.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: weekends; at short notice
There will be
5.4% more Embalmer jobs in 2027.
As an embalmer you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work in a laboratory, at a funeral home or at a research facility.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you'll travel often.
You can get into this job through:
You could apply to do a Mortuary Technician Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship, or Embalmer Level 5 Higher Apprenticeship.
These can take between 2 and 3 years to complete.
You'll usually need:
If you're already working in the funeral industry, you could train to become an embalmer with support from your employer.
You might find it useful to have work experience in a funeral service, mortuary or funeral home when applying for trainee roles.
Training course
You'll usually need to complete an online or classroom based training course approved by the British Institute of Embalmers. You can take
Courses can take between 2 and 3 years to complete. You'll have practical sessions in an embalming theatre.
There are no set entry qualifications but GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), including English, maths, chemistry or biology might be helpful.
When applying, you might have an advantage if you know about different faiths and cultures and the way they deal with death.
You'll need to:
You could join the British Institute of Embalmers to find out about professional development opportunities and to make industry contacts.
You'll find more details about working as an embalmer through the British Institute of Embalmers.
With experience you could:become self employed and work independently with several funeral directors; do further training to specialise in HIV or tuberculosis or join a team responding to disasters; become a funeral director
You'll need: