List of Trades

A Signwriter is a skilled craftsperson who designs and applies lettering, graphics, and decorative artwork to surfaces by hand, using brushes, paint, and traditional techniques developed over centuries. A Signmaker is a broader term covering the full range of sign production, from traditional hand-painted signs through to digitally produced vinyl...

A Massage Therapist is a skilled health and wellbeing professional who uses manual techniques applied to the soft tissues of the body to promote relaxation, relieve pain, reduce muscle tension, support recovery from injury, and improve overall physical and mental wellbeing. The work spans a wide range of modalities and...

A Water Network Technician is a skilled infrastructure professional who installs, maintains, inspects, and repairs the underground pipe networks that distribute drinking water and collect wastewater across towns, cities, and rural areas. The work covers the full range of water and wastewater infrastructure, from the water mains and communication pipes...

A Pipefitter is a skilled tradesperson who lays out, fabricates, installs, and maintains the pipework systems that carry gases, liquids, steam, and other substances through industrial plants, power stations, refineries, ships, and commercial buildings. The work covers everything from small-bore instrument tubing in a chemical plant to large-diameter high-pressure steam...

A Tiler is a skilled tradesperson who cuts, fits, and fixes ceramic, porcelain, natural stone, glass, and mosaic tiles to walls, floors, and other surfaces in domestic, commercial, and public buildings. The work ranges from tiling a single bathroom in a home renovation to installing the stone flooring of a...

A Potter is a skilled craftsperson who forms clay into functional and decorative objects using techniques including throwing on a potter's wheel, hand building, and slip casting, before firing the finished pieces in a kiln to produce durable ceramic ware. A Ceramicist is a broader term covering the full range...

A Boilermaker is a skilled heavy trades professional who fabricates, assembles, installs, and maintains large vessels, tanks, boilers, and structural components made from steel and other metals. Despite the name, modern boilermakers work on far more than boilers. The trade covers pressure vessels for the oil and gas industry, storage...

A Glazier is a skilled tradesperson who cuts, fits, and installs glass in buildings, vehicles, and specialist structures. The work covers an enormous range of applications, from fitting a single pane of glass in a domestic window to installing the curtain wall glazing systems on a major commercial building, creating...

A Cabinet Maker is a skilled craftsperson who designs, constructs, and finishes fine furniture and fitted cabinetry using wood and wood-based materials. A Joiner is a related tradesperson who produces wooden fittings, fixtures, and components in a workshop for installation in buildings, including doors, windows, staircases, architraves, and fitted furniture....

A Bodywork Technician, commonly known as a Panel Beater, is a skilled tradesperson who repairs, reshapes, and restores the structural and cosmetic bodywork of vehicles damaged by collision, corrosion, or general wear. The work ranges from minor dent removal and cosmetic repairs to the full structural reconstruction of severely accident-damaged...

A Brewer is a skilled food and drink professional who produces beer, ale, lager, cider, and other fermented beverages by combining malted grain, hops, yeast, and water through carefully controlled processes of mashing, fermentation, and conditioning. A Distiller takes fermented liquids further, concentrating and refining them through distillation to produce...

A Makeup Artist is a skilled creative professional who applies cosmetics, prosthetics, and specialist products to enhance, transform, or completely alter a person's appearance. The work ranges from bridal and occasion makeup for private clients to editorial shoots for fashion magazines, film and television character makeup, theatrical productions, special effects,...

A Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineer installs, maintains, and repairs the systems that control temperature in buildings, vehicles, food storage, industrial processes, and cold chain logistics. This includes domestic and commercial air conditioning units, industrial refrigeration plant, cold rooms, chiller cabinets, heat pumps, and the complex HVAC systems that keep...

A Butcher is a skilled food professional who prepares, portions, and sells meat and poultry for retail, wholesale, catering, and food service. The work covers the full range of meat handling from the initial breaking down of carcasses into primal cuts, through to the production of value-added products such as...

A Lash and Brow Technician is a beauty professional who specialises in treatments that enhance, reshape, and define the eyes and brows. This includes lash extensions, lash lifts, lash tints, brow shaping, brow lamination, brow tinting, microblading, and a growing range of advanced brow treatments that have become some of...

A Nail Technician is a skilled beauty professional who specialises in the care, treatment, and enhancement of nails on both hands and feet. The work covers a broad range of services - from basic manicures and pedicures to gel overlays, acrylic extensions, nail art, and the latest gel systems -...

A Telecoms and Fibre Optic Installer is a skilled technician who installs, maintains, and repairs the cabling infrastructure that carries telephone, broadband, and data communications. This includes copper telephone networks, fibre optic broadband cables, structured cabling in commercial buildings, and the rapidly expanding full fibre broadband networks being rolled out...

A CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machinist is a skilled technician who sets up, programmes, and operates computer-controlled machine tools to cut, shape, and finish metal, plastic, and composite components to precise engineering specifications. CNC machines include lathes, milling machines, grinding machines, and multi-axis machining centres, all controlled by computer programmes...

A Roofer is a skilled tradesperson who installs, repairs, and maintains the roofs of buildings, ensuring they are weatherproof, structurally sound, and built to last. Roofers work across an enormous range of roof types and materials, from traditional clay tiles and natural slate on period properties to modern flat roofing...

A Painter and Decorator is a skilled tradesperson who prepares, finishes, and decorates interior and exterior surfaces using paint, wallpaper, specialist coatings, and decorative techniques. The work ranges from painting the walls of a new-build home to restoring ornate period interiors, applying specialist protective coatings to industrial structures, and creating...

A Leatherworker is a skilled craftsperson who cuts, shapes, stitches, and finishes leather to produce a wide range of goods -- from bags, belts, and wallets to saddles, footwear, armour, and bespoke upholstered pieces. Leatherworking sits at the intersection of craft, design, and making, and encompasses an enormous range of...

A Jeweller is a skilled craftsperson who designs, makes, repairs, and restores jewellery and precious objects. A Goldsmith is a jeweller who works specifically with gold and other precious metals - silver, platinum, and palladium - at the highest level of craft, often producing bespoke, one-off pieces to commission. In...

A Tailor is a skilled craftsperson who makes, alters, and repairs garments - traditionally suits, jackets, trousers, and tailored clothing - by cutting and sewing fabric to precise measurements. A Seamstress is a related term, historically used to describe someone who sews and constructs garments more broadly, including dresses, eveningwear,...

A Landscape Gardener is a skilled professional who designs, constructs, and maintains outdoor spaces - from private gardens and urban courtyards to public parks, commercial developments, and large estate grounds. The work combines hard landscaping - building with stone, timber, concrete, and steel - with soft landscaping - planting, establishing,...

An Upholsterer is a skilled craftsperson who fits, repairs, and restores the padded, sprung, and fabric elements of furniture - sofas, armchairs, headboards, ottomans, dining chairs, and a wide range of other pieces. The work involves stripping back existing upholstery, repairing or replacing the underlying structure, and then re-padding and...

An Arborist, commonly known as a Tree Surgeon, is a skilled professional who plants, maintains, manages, and removes trees in a safe, informed, and environmentally responsible way. Arborists work across an enormous range of environments - from private gardens and urban streets to forests, parks, national estates, and utility corridors....

A Baker is a skilled food professional who produces bread, pastries, cakes, biscuits, and other baked goods using a combination of technical knowledge, physical skill, and an understanding of ingredients and processes that few other trades demand in quite the same way. Baking is one of the oldest crafts in...

A Chef is a skilled culinary professional who prepares, cooks, and presents food in a professional kitchen. A Pastry Chef - sometimes called a Pâtissier - specialises in the preparation of pastries, desserts, breads, and baked goods. Both roles sit within one of the most demanding, creative, and globally universal...

A Beautician or Beauty Therapist is a skilled professional who provides a range of cosmetic and wellbeing treatments to clients. This includes skincare, nail treatments, waxing, massage, make-up, lash and brow services, and an ever-growing range of advanced aesthetic treatments. It is a broad and evolving trade. At one end...

A Hairdresser or Barber is a skilled professional who cuts, styles, colours, and treats hair. Hairdressers typically work with all hair types and genders across a full range of services, while barbers traditionally specialise in men's cuts, beard grooming, and barbering techniques - though the line between the two has...

A Gas Engineer is a qualified specialist who installs, services, maintains, and repairs gas appliances, pipework, and heating systems. This includes domestic boilers, central heating systems, gas fires, cookers, and commercial gas equipment. Gas engineering is one of the most tightly regulated trades in the UK. Working on gas appliances...

A Welder and Fabricator is a skilled tradesperson who cuts, shapes, and joins metal components to create structures, frameworks, pipework, and machinery. Welders and fabricators work across an enormous range of industries - from construction and shipbuilding to aerospace, automotive manufacturing, oil and gas, and specialist artistic metalwork. It is...

An HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) and Plant Mechanic is a specialist technician who maintains, diagnoses, and repairs large commercial vehicles and heavy machinery. This includes lorries, articulated trucks, buses, coaches, and construction plant equipment such as excavators, cranes, bulldozers, and forklift trucks. It is a distinct and highly specialised trade,...

A Motor Vehicle Technician, commonly known as a mechanic, is a skilled tradesperson who diagnoses, services, maintains, and repairs cars, vans, and other vehicles. The role has evolved enormously over the past two decades.  Modern vehicles are sophisticated pieces of technology, and today's technician needs to be as comfortable with...

Plastering is the skilled trade of applying plaster, render, and other coating materials to walls, ceilings, and external surfaces to create smooth, durable, and decorative finishes. Plasterers work on everything from skimming a single room in a home renovation to applying external render on a large new-build development. It is...

Bricklaying and masonry is the skilled trade of constructing, repairing, and restoring structures using bricks, blocks, stone, and mortar. Bricklayers and masons work on everything from the walls of a new housing estate to the restoration of a centuries-old listed building.

Electrical work is the skilled trade of installing, maintaining, and repairing the electrical systems that power buildings, infrastructure, and equipment. Electricians work on everything from wiring a new home to maintaining the electrical systems in hospitals, factories, and data centres. It is one of the most technically demanding trades, combining...

Plumbing is the skilled trade of installing, maintaining, and repairing the systems that move water, gas, and waste through buildings. Plumbers work on everything from fitting a new bathroom in a home to installing the pipework in a large commercial development. It is a trade that is always in demand....

Carpentry is the skilled trade of working with wood and other materials to construct, install, and repair structures and fittings.  Carpenters work on everything from the timber frame of a new-build house to fitted kitchens, staircases, roof structures, and bespoke furniture. It is a trade that combines practical skill, problem-solving,...