Careers Spotlight: Tiling

Tilers are skilled craftsmen in the construction and renovation industry, specialising in laying tiles on floors, walls, and ceilings in various settings, including homes, businesses, and public spaces. This role involves not only the physical laying of tiles but also the preparation of surfaces, cutting and fitting tiles, and applying grout to finish the job professionally. Tilers must have a good eye for design, detail, and colour to create durable and aesthetically pleasing surfaces.

What Do Tilers Do?

Surface Preparation: Ensure surfaces are clean, level, and ready for tiling, which may involve applying underlayments or waterproofing membranes.

Tile Layout: Plan and lay out tiles to ensure patterns are symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing, including cutting tiles to fit around obstacles.

Adhesive Application: Apply adhesive to surfaces using trowels, ensuring an even spread for tile adherence.

Tile Installation: Carefully place tiles on floors, walls, or ceilings, ensuring they are evenly spaced and level.

Grouting: Fill the gaps between tiles with grout, wipe away excess, and polish the tiles for a finished look.

Could I Be a Tiler?

This role is ideal for individuals who enjoy practical, hands-on work and have a keen eye for detail and design. Suitable candidates should possess good manual dexterity, physical stamina, and the ability to work both independently and as part of a team. Precision and patience are crucial in achieving a high-quality finish.

What Skills Do I Need?

• Attention to Detail

• Precision in laying tiles to ensure a high-quality finish.

• Physical Fitness

• The stamina to work in various postures and handle heavy materials.

• Creativity

• A good sense of design and aesthetics, particularly in selecting and arranging tiles.

• Technical Skills (Knowledge of different types of tiles, adhesives, and grouts, and the ability to use tiling tools and equipment effectively.)

How Much Could I Earn?

Earnings for tilers vary based on experience, location, and the type of work undertaken. Entry-level tilers might earn between £15,000 and £20,000 annually. Experienced and skilled tilers can expect to earn between £25,000 and £35,000 per year, with higher earnings possible for those specialising in high-end or bespoke tiling projects.

How Do I Get Started?

CSCS Card

To work on construction sites, tilers in the UK need a CSCS card. For skilled workers, the Blue CSCS Skilled Worker card is relevant. This requires passing the CITB Health, Safety and Environment Test and having an NVQ or SVQ Level 2 in Wall and Floor Tiling.

Vocational Training

Participate in courses or training programs focused on tiling to learn about different materials, techniques, and safety practices.

Apprenticeships

An apprenticeship in wall and floor tiling provides a mix of on-the-job training and classroom learning, leading to recognised qualifications and practical experience.

Gain Experience

Start with simpler tiling projects to develop your skills. As you gain experience, you can undertake more complex and creative tiling work.

Specialise

Consider specialising in areas such as mosaic, natural stone, or complex geometric patterns to enhance your skills and marketability.

Career Progression

Beginning your career as a tiler offers various paths for advancement. With experience, you might move into supervisory roles, managing projects and teams. Further training can lead to specialisations that allow for work on high-value properties or heritage sites, which can command higher fees.

Entrepreneurial individuals may start their own tiling business, providing services directly to clients. For those with a passion for education, transitioning into a teaching or training role to share your expertise with aspiring tilers is another viable path.

Continuous professional development, including staying updated on the latest materials, techniques, and design trends, is key to a successful career as a tiler.

If you want to learn more about becoming a tiler click on the links below

Boosting your CV

So what is a CV?  CV is short for Curriculum Vitae and is a short document which summarises your unique skills, character, experience and achievements.  

In this section we have looked at how boost your CV.  A good CV will get you noticed and invited for an interview, but no further.  The key to a successful interview lies in soft skills.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills relate to how you work. Soft skills include interpersonal (people) skills, communication skills, listening skills, time management, and empathy, among others. They are among the top skills employers seek in the candidates they hire, because soft skills are important for just about every job.

Creative problem solving and innovation

The last few years have presented many new challenges for companies. The last thing an employer or hiring manager wants is an employee who sees a challenging situation or new task and says, “Wow, I don't know what to do here.” Instead, they want to know that you can think logically and creatively to develop solutions to the problems or obstacles that arise from day to day.

They also hope you'll help to come up with new ideas while addressing existing problems. And the more creative, the better; that kind of thinking leads to innovation and improvements within the company.

On your CV, be sure to highlight your problem solving skills and list situations where you had to use your creativity in the face of adversity by coming up with innovative solutions to the problems you encountered.

At your interview, express your enthusiasm for tackling challenges. Every job has hurdles and employers want to hire people who aren't afraid of tackling those challenges. Make sure that your interviewer knows you're one of those people.

Here are 6 steps to follow to help you to improve your problem solving skills

1. Identify the problem

2. Think about why it’s a problem

3. Brainstorm possible solutions to the problem

4. Evaluate the solutions to the problem

5. Put the solution into action

6. Evaluate the outcome of your problem-solving process

If the solution hasn’t worked, go back to step 1 of this problem-solving process and start again. Perhaps the problem wasn’t what you thought it was, or the solutions weren’t quite right

Unifrog

In keeping with our commitment to provide students with outstanding careers education information, advice and guidance (CEIAG) and tailored support when choosing their next step after school. We have invested in an online application called Unifrog; an award-winning, online careers platform. All students in Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 now have access to this excellent website.

The Unifrog platform is designed to support learners in making the most informed decisions about their futures and has a range of tools that are suitable for all year groups. Each student has their own personal account that provides a wide range of information related to their interests and aspirations.  Key features of the platform include:

Exploring Pathways – personality quizzes, career and subject profiles, MOOCs and webinars

Recording – self-reflection about extracurricular activities and key employability skills

Opportunities – search tools showing live vacancies/courses/placements for apprenticeships, universities (in the UK and abroad), FE, virtual work experience and much more

Applications – tools to help students build applications for a range of pathways (e.g., CVs, Personal Statements, Common App Essays)

All students have access to the platform, which is unique to them. They login to Unifrog using their email address and password and they can do so from any computer, tablet or smartphone. We would encourage all students to use the platform at home too, so parent/carers can support their child through the process of deciding their next step

Help for Parents and Carers

When it comes to education and careers, parents and carers have a large influence on a students choices. As an adult you are expected to have all the answers, but in a constantly evolving world it can be a struggle to keep up with the latest options out there.  In this section we will highlight resources that will help keep you up to date with careers and the choices available to young people.

With GCSE's and A-level exams about to start and year 9's thinking about option choices this month we look at some of the questions parents regularly have regarding qualifications

What do the GCSE grades mean?

• By 2020 all GCSE subjects had stopped using the A* to F grading and moved to numerical grades

• GCSE grades now start with 1 (the lowest) and go up to 9 (the highest)

• Though there isn't an exact match between the old grades and the current system a grade 4 is broadly equivalent to a C, a grade 8 is broadly equivalent to an A* and a grade 9 is seen as being higher than an A*.

What is the difference between a GCSE and a BTEC?

• BTEC stands for the Business and Technology Education Council. BTECs are specialist work-related qualifications.

• BTEC’s come in a wide range of levels.  A level 2 BTEC is equivalent to a GCSE while a level 3 BTEC is equivalent to an A-level.

• Though they are less common there are level 4, 5 6 and level 7 BTECs.  A level 7 BTEC is equivalent to a masters degree.

• BTEC’s tend to be more industry focussed compared to GCSE’s or A-levels

• Where a GCSE is typically assessed at the end of the course with a series of exams a BTEC is split into units.  Whilst some units are assessed via an exam the majority of units are assessed by the teacher and are similar to coursework.

What is a level 2 qualification?

• The level of a qualification shows its level of difficulty.

• The levels are from entry level to level 8

• The higher the level the harder the qualification

• GCSE’s are level 2 qualifications

• A-levels are level 3 qualifications.

• A bachelor's degree is a level 6 qualification

• Post graduate degrees and doctorates are level 7 and level 8 qualifications

Do students have to resit their maths and English GCSE?

• If a student doesn't achieve a grade 4 in maths at the end of Year 11 they will need to resit

• If a student doesn't achieve a grade 4 in either English language or English literature they will need to resit

• This applies whether the student goes on to 6th form, college or does an apprenticeship

• There is no requirement to resit once a student reaches the end of Year 13 (or equivalent)

• It is worth bearing in mind that any university courses require a grade 6 in maths and/or English language.

What subjects should my child take?

• The subjects a student chooses are a personal choice.

• Students shouldnt choose a subject just because they like their current teacher as there is no guarantee that they will have the same teacher next year

• Students should not choose a subject just because their friends are choosing that subject.

• If a student knows what career they wish to pursue then looking at what the entry requirements are for getting the job they want is a good place to start.

• If a student doesn't yet know what career they wish to pursue then choosing subjects they enjoy is a good starting point.

Careers in Hertfordshire: Health and Social Care

Health and social care is about providing physical, emotional and social support to help people live their lives. For various reasons and at different stages in their lives, some people need support to develop and maintain their independence, dignity and control. Health and social care provides a wide range of services to support children, adults and older people.

Working in social care means supporting people with their non-clinical needs, although there is an important crossover between working in health and working in social care. Your work could range from anything to providing medication and personal care to helping someone with their shopping or making their lunch for them.

Working in health care is about helping people to stay healthy and protecting them from threats to their health. While medicine and nursing are vital for helping and supporting people when they fall ill, working in health contributes to reducing the causes of ill-health and improving people's health and wellbeing.

If you work in health or social care, you could help people in hospitals, clinics, in their own homes, in residential homes or in a number of other places such as day centres or supported housing.

HERTFORDSHIRE AND WEST ESSEX HEALTH AND CARE ACADEMY

 The Hertfordshire and west Essex Health and Care Academy has been created to promote careers, jobs, apprenticeships, offer work experience and support existing staff with development opportunities. This includes links to the established Hertfordshire Care Professional Academy which is a partnership between Hertfordshire Care Providers Association and partners, Adult Care Services at Hertfordshire County Council aimed at ensuring the entire Hertfordshire care workforce is trained to a professional, best practice standard across the board.

What is the difference between the Health and Care Academy and the Care Professional Academy?

The Health and Care Academy is aimed at promoting careers, jobs, apprenticeships or accessing work experience whether you are already employed in health and social care or just getting started in your career. The Care Professional Academy aims to professionalise the Adult Social Care sector by offering all Care Professionals opportunities for continuous professional development, all while rewarding them for their work in their essential roles.

As an Academy Care Professional, you can sign up independently as long as you work or live in Herts, in the Adult Social Care Sector. You can then log your training certificates, track your development, and access exclusive rewards, discounts, and cashback offers on everyday expenses and luxury items. These rewards are tiered, with five levels available, based on your uploaded certificates Care Professionals are encouraged to continue learning and enhance their skills, which are recognised through the reward system. The Academy also offers access to sector news and a training passport that demonstrates your qualifications to current and future employers.

The initiative remains a partnership between Hertfordshire Care Providers Association (HCPA) and Adult Care Services at Hertfordshire County Council but has expanded its reach to support Care Professionals nationwide. To find out more, click here.

PERSONS EMPLOYED IN HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE

 From art therapists to anaesthetists; and from social workers to surgeons; there are hundreds of opportunities in health and social care. In fact there are over 350 different roles across the sector. Every day is different and rewarding with many roles to choose from. They all play a vital role in looking after people’s health and well-being

57,000 people currently work in the Health and Social Care sector across Hertfordshire and West Essex, providing care and support to a population of 1.5 million.

Health and care services are continuing to improve to ensure people live healthy lives for longer, but this also means that more people will be needed to fill crucial health and care jobs.

For more information please go to www.hopinto.co.uk/ 

Current Opportunities

This month we have opportunities to learn about careers in the NHS and within the construction industry as well as the chance to apply to work for international accounting form KPMG

Career Opportunities in the NHS: Work Experience in Allied Healthcare

Good morning,

I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to remind you of the upcoming NHS Allied Healthcare Work Experience session happening next Sunday 3rd May. It's a fantastic opportunity for students in years 10/S3/NI11 through 13/S6/NI14 who are considering a career in healthcare.

Registration Link: https://alliedhealthmentor.org/product/live-virtual-work-experience-programme/

Students will explore the crucial elements of Road Traffic Collisions (RTC) whilst being guided through various allied health careers by exploring the journeys of two patients from initial presentation to full recovery. Students will gain invaluable perspectives on patient care dynamics and the collaborative efforts within the NHS, including exploring careers within:

- Nursing

- Midwifery

- Paramedicine

- Physiotherapy

- Occupational Therapy

- Dietetics

- Radiography

- Prosthetics and Orthotics

- Speech and Language Therapy

- Pharmacy

Attendees will have the opportunity to interact with healthcare professionals throughout each day. This will empower students to make informed career decisions and demonstrate their commitment to healthcare in their UCAS applications.

Once they’ve registered, students will be emailed links to their virtual work experience portals.

Students are awarded a Work Experience Certificate for every session they complete. Those who complete the full 6-month programme will be awarded a Highly Commended Reference from the Presidents of Allied Healthcare Mentor. These are fantastic additions to their CVs!

Students can register individually at any time throughout the 6-month programme using the link below. We recommend booking early to gain as much out of this programme as possible. Places are £10 a session to cover administrative and technological costs.

Sign up here:

https://alliedhealthmentor.org/nhs-healthcare-careers-virtual-work-experience/

Thank you for highlighting this opportunity to the next generation of NHS workers. I look forward to meeting your students at the next work experience day on Sunday 3rd May.

Kindest Regards,

Dr Barrie Lyell

Chief Mentor

Allied Healthcare Mentor (part of Mentorverse)

Associate Member of the NHS Confederation

NHS Providers Insight Partner

Enquiry Form: https://airtable.com/shrM6UPT8Z2uxx7OL

Allied Healthcare Mentor Helpline: 01530 417299 (Open 10am - 5pm Monday - Friday)

KPMG Apprenticeships

Join KPMG’s Class of 2026 – applications are now open!

We’re thrilled to announce that applications for our 2026 Apprenticeship Programmes in Consulting and Technology are officially open. We’re so excited to welcome the next generation of talent and can’t wait to see how you’ll Make the Difference at KPMG.

Apply now to join our Advisory team through a range of Consulting

or  Technology programmes

Roles will fill quickly, so apply early to secure your 2026 position. Whichever programme you choose to join, you’ll benefit from

• Exceptional learning and development: you’ll have a structured training programme, dedicated study time to work towards a professional qualification or degree, mentoring opportunities and a range of professional development resources.

• A supportive and collaborative culture: You’ll be surrounded by colleagues who are passionate about their work and want to help you succeed.

• The opportunity to make the difference: At KPMG you’ll work on projects that make a real difference to our clients and communities. You’ll be helping businesses to operate more sustainably and make a positive contribution.

• A competitive salary of £25,500-28,000 depending on your office location

[Search and apply now]

We look forward to receiving your application – good luck!

KPMG Student Recruitment team

Olivia Whitehead

Student Recruitment Officer

KPMG LLP                                                                                    

58 Clarendon Road                                                                                                   

Watford, Hertfordshire, WD17 1DE   

UK Construction Week

I wanted to personally bring this to your attention.

As we approach UK Construction Week London, the scale and quality of engagement we’re seeing across the industry has been exceptionally strong. The breadth of organisations involved and the level of discussion planned reflect just how important the next phase of delivery will be for the built environment.

For those actively involved in shaping projects and strategy over the coming year, this is a particularly important moment to be part of the conversation.

I would encourage you not to miss the opportunity to be part of the conversations shaping the future of the built environment.

Click on the image below to find out more