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Carpet Fitter

Do you want to become a Carpet Fitter? Here is some information to help point you in the right direction:

Job Description - Print Page

Carpet fitters lay new carpets, working at a variety of sites. The job involves:

• removing furniture and doors
• removing the old carpet and cleaning the floor
• installing gripper round the edge of the room
• cutting the underlay (where required) to fit
• laying the carpet on top, sewing or taping joins and making sure the pile and pattern match
• stretching and flattening the carpet
• cutting the carpet to fit the edges of the room.

Most carpet fitters work 39 hours a week from Monday to Friday. They may have some early starts and late finishes. They work mainly in customers' houses and business premises. Some of the working day is spent travelling from one job to another.

Salaries range from £9,000 to £10,000 for new entrants, to around £40,000 a year for highly skilled and experienced fitters. Carpet fitters need:

• practical skills
• good numerical skills
• to be fit, active and reasonably strong
• the ability to work quickly and accurately.

Carpet fitters work for carpet shops, department stores, specialist flooring firms, interior designers, carpet showrooms and carpet manufacturers. They can work throughout the UK and there is a shortage of skilled fitters in most parts of the country. Around 75 per cent of carpet fitters are self-employed.

New entrants to the carpet fitting industry are usually young people. There are no formal academic entry requirements, but GCSEs/S grades (A-E/1-5) are useful, particularly in maths, English and ICT. A good standard of physical fitness and normal colour vision are required. Adult entry, though possible, is difficult. Adults need to find an employer willing to provide training.

Entrants start as trainees or apprentices and can work towards NVQs/SVQs in Floor Covering. Training takes place on the job, under the supervision of experienced staff, and may be supplemented by short courses. It is likely to take two years or more to become fully proficient.

Experienced fitters can become supervisors, working with a team of fitters on larger jobs, such as laying carpet in a hotel. It is also possible to move away from fitting into jobs such as planning or estimating. Some self-employed fitters eventually set up their own carpet shops.

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