How to become a Tiler?

Training to become a tiler could be a great career choice for you and with many City and Guilds approved training centres all over the UK there has never been a better time to start your training.

There will be many questions that you'll have to ask yourself before you start your training, questions like: Will I enjoy it? Will I earn better money? Will it improve my opportunities? Will I be better off working for myself? These are just a few of the questions you have to ask yourself before you get started on your tiling training course.

A tilers job is to fit walls and floors with tiles, the work can range from tiling bathrooms and kitchens in domestic houses to commercial scale projects in shops, offices and other types of buildings.

Some also specialize on particular projects for example on swimming pools etc.

Tilers can work as part of a small team or on their own depending on the size of the job. Typical tiling work may fall into any of the following areas:

• Marking out an area to estimate the amount of material (tiles and adhesive) needed
• Cutting tiles to size and shape with hand-cutters or other tools
• Preparing surfaces by levelling off with plaster, sand or cement
• Fixing tiles to the wall or floor and applying the grout before finishing off

When you are a tiler you might be employed or self employed and your work may vary from large commercial projects or small scale domestic house jobs.

Once you've decided that tiling is the right career for you, you'll now want to find a suitable training centre for your tiling course.
Tiling training centres can be found all over the UK, where you can get practical and technical training that meets with the industry recognised City and Guilds standards. The courses are designed to get you trained up to the standards required to be able to start work as a tiler.

There are full time and part time courses available to cater for everyone's needs, if you take the full time option then you'll become a tiler that much quicker than if you choose a part time course, some full time courses last anywhere between 3 and 8 weeks, the part time courses are especially good if you're already in employment and have to juggle your training times around your working hours. There are no entry requirements needed to enrol on a tiling training course, just the enthusiasm to learn your new trade.

Once you have successfully completed your City and Guilds tiling training course you will be awarded the City and Guilds tiling certificate which proves that you have met with all the latest requirements that are needed to become a qualified tiler and you will now be ready to enter the workplace, where you can put all the technical and practical skills that you have learned into practice.

Once in work, you can gradually build up a suitable portfolio of projects in order to gain your NVQ Level 2 diploma, which you aim for next if you want to further your career in tiling. Obtaining your NVQ Level 2 will prove that you have the ability to work to the industry's required standards and once achieved you will be regarded as a fully qualified tiler.

An NVQ is a work based assessment, where you arrange to have an NVQ advisor to meet you at your place of work where he/she will watch you working on different projects until you build up a suitable portfolio of work to demonstrate your competence meets the required standards. If you're working for someone else tell them that you would like to be assessed in order to try and obtain your NVQ Level 2.
They will also ask you questions and will test your knowledge and understanding on tiling once he/she is happy with your work they will award you with your NVQ Level 2.

Well that's it, I hope this article has given you all the information you was looking for regarding how to become a tiler and I wish you the best of luck in your new chosen career. Tiling is a very rewarding trade and one that is highly rated in the building industry.

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