Carpet, tile, harwood floors; tile installers, tilesetters, and marble setters

Carpet, Floor, and Tile Installers and Finishers Training and Advancement

The vast majority of carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers learn their trade informally on the job. A few, mostly tile setters, learn through formal apprenticeship programs taking nearly 3 years to complete, which include on-the-job training as well as related classroom instruction.

Informal training for carpet installers often is sponsored by individual contractors. Workers start as helpers, and begin with simple assignments, such as installing stripping and padding, or helping to stretch newly installed carpet. With experience, helpers take on more difficult assignments, such as measuring, cutting, and fitting.

Tile and marble setters also learn their craft mostly through on-the-job training. They start by helping carry materials and learning about the tools of the trade. They then learn to prepare the subsurface for tile or marble. As they progress they learn to cut the tile and marble to fit the job.

They will also learn to apply grout and sealants used in finishing the materials to give it its final appearance. Apprenticeship programs and some contractor-sponsored programs provide comprehensive training in all phases of the tilesetting and floor layer trades.

Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tile, learn on the job and begin by learning how to use the tools of the trade. They next learn to prepare surfaces to receive flooring. As they progress, they learn to cut and install the various floor coverings.

Some skills needed to become carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers include manual dexterity, eye-hand coordination, physical fitness, and a good sense of balance and color. The ability to solve arithmetic problems quickly and accurately also is required. In addition, reliability and a good work history is viewed favorably by contractors.

Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers may advance to positions as supervisors or become salespersons or estimators. In these positions, they should be able to identify and estimate the quantity of materials needed to complete a job, and accurately estimate how long a job will take to complete and at what cost.

Some carpet installers may become managers for large installation firms. Many carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers who begin working for someone else eventually go into business for themselves as independent subcontractors. Around two-fifths of all carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers are self-employed.

For those who would like to advance, it is increasingly important to be able to communicate in both English and Spanish in order to relay instructions and safety precautions to workers with limited understanding of English; Spanish-speaking workers make up a large part of the construction workforce in many areas. Workers who want to advance supervisor jobs or become contractors need good English skills to deal with clients and subcontractors.

Source:

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Carpet, Floor, and Tile Installers and Finishers, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos203.htm (visited October 05, 2006).