Start Your Flooring Apprenticeship

What you will do Flooring installers may do some or all of the following: check customers’ requirements prepare quotes for jobs measure and prepare areas to be covered measure, cut, apply and secure floor coverings mix and apply resin flooring repair damaged floor coverings install and/or sand timber floors. Skills and knowledge Flooring installers need to have knowledge of: how to prepare floors for installation different types of flooring materials and how to cut and fit or apply them technical skills such as knowing how to measure a floor’s moisture content skill in using specialised equipment such as floor sanders health and safety equipment and processes. Flooring installers who are self-employed also need business skills. Working conditions Flooring installers: usually work regular business hours, but may have to work long or irregular hours work in homes and other buildings that are being refurbished or built work in conditions that may be hazardous, dusty or contain adhesive fumes travel locally and occasionally between towns. Pay Pay for flooring installers varies depending on experience. Flooring installers may receive an hourly rate, but are often paid a contract rate per metre of flooring installed. Apprentice floor covering installers usually start on the training rate or minimum wage, but earn more as they gain experience and unit standards. Newly qualified flooring installers usually earn between minimum wage and $22 an hour. Experienced flooring installers usually earn between $25 and $35 an hour. Source: Floor NZ, 2019. PAYE.net.nz website – use this calculator to convert pay and salary information Employment New Zealand website – information about minimum wage rates (This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our pay information)

Entry requirements There are no specific entry requirements to become a flooring installer. To become a qualified flooring installer you need to complete an apprenticeship and gain one of these qualifications: National Certificate in Flooring (Level 4) – for installing floor coverings National Certificate in Resin Flooring Application (Level 4) – for installing resin flooring National Certificate in Flooring Planning & Design (Level 4) – for working in retail flooring sales. The Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) oversees flooring installation apprenticeships. Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation (BCITO) – information on flooring apprenticeships Secondary education No specific secondary education is required for this job, but construction and mechanical technologies, maths and physical education to at least NCEA Level 1 are useful. Year 11 and 12 learners can find out more about the construction industry and gain relevant skills, by doing a National Certificate in Building, Construction and Allied Trades (Level 1 and 2) through the BConstructive programme. For Year 11 to 13 learners, trades academies and the STAR and Gateway programmes are good ways to gain industry experience. These programmes may help you gain an apprenticeship, but do not reduce the time it takes to complete it. BConstructive website – information on the BConstructive programme Personal requirements Flooring installers need to be: careful and accurate, with an eye for detail able to follow instructions able to work well under pressure able to work well with others good at basic maths safety-conscious. Useful experience Useful experience for flooring installers includes: work as a flooring salesperson work as a storeperson in a flooring warehouse work in a carpet factory building work. Experience in joinery or woodworking is useful for flooring installers who work with timber floors. Physical requirements Flooring installers need to: be reasonably fit have strong arms and a strong back be able to work in dusty conditions and not suffer from respiratory diseases.

Career opportunities Floor covering installer, supervisor, project manager, business owner, retail sales, retail sales manager, manufacturing, sales representative. Shortage of flooring installers Floor finisher (flooring installer) appears on Immigration New Zealand’s construction and infrastructure skill shortage list. This means the Government is actively encouraging skilled flooring installers from overseas to work in New Zealand. However, like many building jobs, this role can be affected by economic conditions. A downturn in the economy can lower demand for flooring installers. Decreasing number of flooring installer apprentices but strong demand There has been a decreasing supply of new flooring installers over the last few years. There are not enough qualified flooring installers to meet demand. You can increase your chances of getting a flooring installer apprenticeship if you have: a good attitude to work, good time management skills, and are willing to learn completed a Gateway or pre-trade programme experience in flooring installation a tertiary qualification but want to retrain in flooring installation. Most flooring installers run their own business Most flooring installers are self-employed contractors. Other flooring installers work for small businesses that employ only a few staff. What are the chances of getting a job? Growth in building work means good opportunities for flooring installers Chances of getting a job as a flooring installer are good due to: a regional shortage of flooring installers in Auckland, Queenstown and Waikato vacancies occurring when experienced flooring installers progress into sales or business ownership moderate growth in construction is predicted to extend until at least the end of 2023, meaning more flooring installation work the Government’s KiwiBuild programme involves the building of quality affordable homes over the next decade building work needed to upgrade leaky homes and earthquake-prone building. The Christchurch post-earthquake rebuild is ongoing but most of the remaining work is in the non-residential (commercial) sector. Sources Immigration New Zealand, ‘Construction and Infrastructure Skill Shortage List’, 27 May 2019, (www.immigration.govt.nz). Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, ‘National Construction Pipeline Report 2018’, July 2019, (www.branz.co.nz). Pearcey, K, chief executive officer, Floor NZ, careers.govt.nz interview, July 2019. (This information is a guide only. Find out more about the sources of our job opportunities information) Progression and specialisations Flooring installers may progress to set up their own flooring business, or become flooring sales representatives. Flooring installers may specialise in: installing certain products such as vinyl, carpet or timber overlay applying resin processes such as preparing floors or sanding.