jobfacts

Tiler

Floorers and wall tilers — SOC 2020 5322

Floorers and wall tilers lay composition mixtures (other than mastic asphalt) to form flooring, plan, fit and secure carpet, underlay and linoleum and cover and decorate walls and floors with terrazzo and granolithic mixtures, tiles and mosaic panels.

Also calledWall tilerFloor tilerCeramic tilerCarpet fitter and floor layerFlooring fitterFloor layerand 74 more titles
Typical full-time pay£32,9002025 Provisional
People in the job36,000across the UK
Demand for workersCritical
New adverts a month346↓ 5.3%on last year · 300th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time tilers earn, 2025
£32,900 typical£25,000lowest 20%£26,50025%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,000
25%£26,500
Median£32,900
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
More than half (64%) of tilers work for themselves. These pay figures only cover employees, so they may not reflect what self-employed tilers earn.
Typical pay by regionUK median £32,900
East of England!£37,100
Yorkshire and The Humber!£36,000
Wales!£29,700
North West!£29,200
North EastNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £32,900
East of England£37,100 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£36,000 (small sample)
Wales£29,700 (small sample)
North West£29,200 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £32,400
  • 2024 £32,500
  • 2025 Provisional£32,900
↑ 1.4% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 346 jobs for tilers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as critical.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026375
Jul 2026368
Jun 2026300
May 2026362
Apr 2026288
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026329
Jan 2026281
Dec 2025167
Nov 2025379
Oct 2025499
Sept 2025452
Aug 2025443
Jul 2025416
Jun 2025473
May 2025480
Apr 2025381
Mar 2025424
Feb 2025299
Jan 2025225
Dec 2024218
Nov 2024311
Oct 2024345
Sept 2024423
Aug 2024375
Jul 2024353
Jun 2024329
May 2024378
Apr 2024318
Mar 2024271
Feb 2024230
Jan 2024287
Dec 2023278
Nov 2023218
Oct 2023233
Sept 2023250
Aug 2023283
Jul 2023296
Jun 2023495
May 2023784
Apr 2023443
Mar 2023387
Feb 2023584
Jan 2023785
Dec 2022495
Nov 20221,341
Oct 2022808
Sept 2022478
Aug 2022434
Jul 2022454
Jun 2022390
May 2022508
Apr 2022263
Mar 2022370
Feb 2022377
Jan 2022466
Dec 2021299
Nov 2021408
Oct 2021421
Sept 2021432
Aug 2021494
Jul 2021754
Jun 2021569
May 2021678
Apr 2021594
Mar 20211,078
Feb 2021449
Jan 2021562
Dec 2020384
Nov 2020421
Oct 2020550
Sept 2020492
Aug 2020411
Jul 2020409
Jun 2020416
May 2020177
Apr 2020220
Mar 2020314
Feb 2020452
Jan 2020362
Dec 2019376
Nov 2019662
Oct 2019480
Sept 2019538
Aug 2019444
Jul 2019408
Jun 2019343
May 2019358
Apr 2019251
Mar 2019247
Feb 2019256
Jan 2019303
Dec 2018151
Nov 2018279
Oct 2018358
Sept 2018351
Aug 2018430
Jul 2018330
Jun 2018388
May 2018321
Apr 2018324
Mar 2018338
Feb 2018283
Jan 2018326
Dec 2017238
Nov 2017360
Oct 2017371
Sept 2017401
Aug 2017455
Jul 2017435
Jun 2017591
May 2017514
Apr 2017494
Mar 2017550
Feb 2017327
Jan 2017426
Is there a shortage of tilers?
Critical

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthWell above usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertainty in hours and earnings due to proportion of self employed workers.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
45%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for skilled construction and building trades, which includes tilers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London205
Birmingham33
Manchester24
Liverpool20
Glasgow City18
Leeds17
Nottingham17
Bristol, City of16
City of Edinburgh14
Reading12
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where tilers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of tilers
26%!
22%!
18%!
18%!
14%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–2426% (small sample)
25–3422% (small sample)
35–4418% (small sample)
45–5418% (small sample)
55–6414% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!26%
GCSEs or equivalent40%
Other qualifications!9.3%
No qualifications!17%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent26% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent40%
Other qualifications9.3% (small sample)
No qualifications17% (small sample)

Main employers: floor and wall covering (72%), construction of residential and non-residential buildings (18%), retail sale of carpets, rugs, wall and floor coverings in specialised stores (3%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 40%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
2½ years
typically
Self-employed
64%
of people in the job

Routes in

Tiler

You can get into this job through:

College

You could take a college course to learn some of the skills needed to do this job. Courses include:

  • wall and floor tiling
  • construction skills - tiling

Some colleges offer short DIY courses in tiling that you can try before deciding whether to take a longer course that leads to a qualification.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Finishing Trades Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Wall and Floor Tiling Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Work your way up

You may be able to start work as a site labourer or tiler's 'mate' and do further training on the job to qualify as a tiler.

Registration and professional bodies

Registration
  • you'll need a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card or equivalent to train and work on a construction site
Further information

You can find more details about tiling careers and training from:

  • Go Construct
  • House Building Careers
  • The Tile Association

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for tiler. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Carpet fitter and floor layer

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You can apply to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Finishing Trades Level 2 Foundation Apprenticeship
  • Floorlayer Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • no specific qualifications or experience to apply for a foundation apprenticeship
  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
More about this route
Foundation apprenticeship

You can apply for a foundation apprenticeship if you're aged 16 to 21.

If you're aged 22 to 24, you can apply if you:

  • have an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  • are in care or have been in care
  • are in prison or have been in prison

Apply directly

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.

Registration and professional bodies

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

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for carpet fitter and floor layer. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Other qualifications

QualificationTypeLevel
Finishing trades foundation apprenticeshipFoundation apprenticeship2

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • examines drawings and specifications to determine job requirements
  • cleans floor surface, fixes wooden laying guides and mixes, pours and levels granite and terrazzo mixtures, bitumen, synthetic resin or other composition mixtures to form flooring
  • examines premises to plan suitable layout and cuts, lays and secures underlay, carpet and linoleum
  • finishes covering by rolling, smoothing, grouting or polishing
  • mixes cement screed or other adhesive, cuts and positions floor and wall tiles and checks alignment of tiling with spirit level

Skills

  • follow health and safety procedures in construction
  • inspect construction supplies
  • interpret 2D plans
  • interpret 3D plans
  • transport construction supplies
  • use measurement instruments
  • work ergonomically
  • advise on construction materials
  • answer requests for quotation
  • calculate needs for construction supplies
  • keep personal administration
  • keep records of work progress
  • monitor stock level
  • order construction supplies

Knowledge

  • aesthetics

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for skilled construction and building trades, a group of 12 jobs that includes tilers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↓ 1.5%about 14,000 fewer jobs
Workers needed by 2035374,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.