Painter and decorator

Transform rooms and buildings with paint, wallpaper and specialist finishes – ideal if you have an eye for colour and detail.

Salary£21,000 – £32,000
Hours37 to 42 hours a week; occasional evenings and weekends (National Careers Service)
Working for yourselfSelf-employment is common

What the job is like

Painters and decorators apply paint, wallpaper and special finishes to the inside and outside of buildings, from a single bedroom to offices, schools and historic properties. Most of the skill is in the preparation: stripping, filling and priming so the final coats look flawless.

If you are patient, tidy and enjoy colour and design, it is a welcoming trade to start in, and many decorators work directly with customers. Progression can lead to supervising, estimating, interior or set design, heritage work or your own business.

What you'll do

Work out how much paint or wallcovering a job needs
Protect floors and furniture and prepare materials
Strip old wallpaper or paint
Fill holes and cracks and get surfaces smooth and level
Apply primer, undercoat and top coats
Mix colours, often with computerised colour matching
Hang wallpaper and apply stains, varnishes or decorative effects
Clean up and look after your tools

Where you'll work

Indoors
Outdoors
In customers' homes
Working at height
In a team
On your own

Skills and hobbies that help

Weighted by how much they matter in this job, from the official job profile's skills and tasks. Tap one to see other careers that use it.

Key skills

Used a lot

Handy to have

Safety-conscious

Hobbies that give you a head start

How to become a painter and decorator

Apprenticeship

Painter and Decorator – Level 2 apprenticeship (ST0295), typical duration 24 months.

Craft Painter and Decorator – Level 3 apprenticeship (ST1358), typical duration 18 months.

Finishing Trades Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship for 16 to 21 year olds (or 22 to 24 in some circumstances).

College

Level 2 or Level 3 Diploma in Painting and Decorating. Colleges usually ask for 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 for Level 2, or 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 for Level 3.

Other ways in

Start as a decorator's labourer or 'mate' and train on the job.

Qualifications, licences and cards

CSCS card (or equivalent) – most principal contractors expect one before you work on a construction site

Where it can lead

Team supervisor
Estimating or contract management
Interior or set design
Heritage conservation
Your own business, or training apprentices and teaching in further education

Good to know

The National Careers Service profile still mentions the Onsite Construction T Level, but the Department for Education lists September 2024 as its final enrolment, and it no longer appears on the T Levels subject list. For this trade, look at college diplomas or apprenticeships instead.
You need to be comfortable working at height on ladders or scaffolding.
The Painting and Decorating Association offers membership for professional development and industry contacts.

Courses and training

Apprenticeship search

Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK

The official GOV.UK service for searching and applying for apprenticeship vacancies in England.

Visit Find an apprenticeship
Course search

Find a course – National Careers Service

The National Careers Service search for college and training provider courses in England, including Skills Bootcamps.

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See all courses and funding

Official information

Sources

We checked these pages in September 2026. Rules, pay and courses change, so always confirm with the official source.

National Careers Service: Painter and decorator nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/job-profiles/painter-and-decorator
Painter and decorator (Level 2, ST0295) skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st0295-v1-3
Craft painter and decorator (Level 3, ST1358) skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeships/st1358-v1-2
Introduction of T Levels (GOV.UK) gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels
T Level subjects tlevels.gov.uk/students/subjects
Go Construct: Painter and decorator goconstruct.org/construction-careers/what-jobs-are-right-for-me/painter-and-decorator