Painter and decorator

You would decorate and protect surfaces such as plaster, metal and wood to create pleasant spaces for people to live and work in.

You could work on everything from redecorating living rooms to painting large structures like bridges.

When working in a home, you would use paint, varnishes and wallpaper to decorate rooms. You would follow instructions about colours, textures and wallpaper patterns.

You would:

• Measure areas to work out how much paint or wall covering you need
• Strip off old wallpaper or paint
• Fill holes and cracks and make sure surfaces are level
• Prepare surfaces with primer and undercoat
• Mix paint to the right shade, either by hand or using computerised colour-matching equipment
• Apply layers of paint and hang wallpaper
• Tidy up after finishing a job

On some jobs you might apply specialist finishes such as rag rolling, graining and marbling. You would often work from ladders or raised platforms to reach ceilings.

For industrial projects, such as bridges or ships, you would remove old paintwork with abrasive blasting methods before applying new coatings using industrial paint spraying equipment. You would use a cradle or safety harness when working.

Paints and solvents give off fumes, so you may have to wear a protective mask or use fume extraction equipment on some jobs.

You’d need a good awareness of health and safety issues for this role.