Becoming a Painter and Decorator

Becoming a painter and decorator is no mean feat – it’s a career that involves working on a vast range of jobs. As a painter and decorator you could be working on a variety of jobs, each differing in scale and requirement. For instance, on one day you might be painting and decorating a normal suburban house – the next you could well be contracted to work on a large commercial site or public building.

The needs of jobs differ because the skill, equipment and type of job involved vary so much, meaning that no two jobs are exactly the same.

If you’re considering a career change to a painter and decorator job, you’ll have to first make sure that you have the skills and experience in place before you begin finding work.

What Work Will I Do?

As a painter and decorator, as the job title suggests part of your job will be painting! If you’re thinking of becoming a painter and decorator, of course you’ll need the more ‘artistic’ skill of being able to paint precisely and efficiently. But the other skills needed to be a successful painter and decorator go far beyond how well you can wield a brush. A truly successful painter and decorator will be adept at many different skills.

Typical painting and decorating jobs include:

• Stripping old wallpaper and hanging new paper
• Preparing wood, plaster, metal or other surfaces for painting
• Installing decorative features such as fireplace mantles, cornices and ceiling moulds
• Applying specialised paint textures or techniques such as Artex™ or marbling
• Restoring old interior or exterior décor.

Part of your work will also be prepping a room before hanging wallpaper or painting. This includes sanding and smoothing down paintwork, walls and doors, filling in cracks, treating any problem areas and ensuring you have a clean surface to work with. Again, you’ll need have good working knowledge of the correct chemicals and treatments for each specific job and know which tools to use. If your job involves working on larger commercial or industrial developments, you’ll be required to use some heavy duty equipment. This in itself requires good knowledge of health and safety, strength and skill.

Multi-Tasking

You will be required to work with a whole host of decorating tools and materials, and know your products well. There is quite an astonishing array of paints, varnishes, and adhesives available, each suited for specific uses and purposes. Having an expert knowledge of painting and decorating products will help you achieve the look and feel that your client is after.

In many cases it will be a case of following your householder’s instructions. However, if your client is not sure exactly what they want, you will also be able to help them in an advisory capacity. This might require some aptitude for creativeness and interior design, as well as the more ‘practical’ skills involved. This requires good, solid interpersonal skills, and an ability to communicate in a clear and concise way. A friendly but professional approach will also prove handy.

You may have also to employ some maths skills when dealing with things such as job quotes, measurements, and chemical dilution ratios. Another consideration is the fact that you might often be expected to work at considerable heights sometimes. This can be on scaffolding, a platform or with various ladders, so a head for heights is usually a prerequisite for working as a painter and decorator.

Entering Employment

If you want to work as a painter and decorator, there are several employment options open to you.

Firstly, there are different formal training routes you can take, which will result in a qualification. City & Guilds (6217) Level 1 Certificate in Basic Construction Skills (Painting and Decorating) is one such programme, as well as CSkills Level 1 Diploma in Painting and Decorating. A qualification such as City & Guilds will help you to gather enough experience to make you a more desirable candidate to employers.

Experience counts for a lot in the painting and decorating arena, so formal qualifications are not always needed, but certainly do help. However bear in mind that an alternative is to train on-site as a labourer’s mate or as an apprentice with a self-employed painter. The pay may be basic, but the experience can count for a lot and will help you to move up the painting and decorating career ladder.

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