The interior system fit-out trades are:

• Access floorer
• Drylining fixer and finisher
• Relocatable partitioning fixer and operable partitioner
• Suspended ceiling fixer

The variety of projects people might work on are numerous: offices, retail parks/shopping centres, cinemas, nightclubs, football stadia, restaurants, hotels, leisure facilities, airports, hospitals etc. Next time you are out and about take a look around you - your local cinema or night club will have soundproofed walls, the ceiling fitted with air conditioning and raised floors, people working in the specialist interiors sector created all these.

Choose a career in specialist interiors and you could be working on anything from a state-of-the-art airport terminal or a cool hotel, to a multi-million pound refurbishment of a Premier league football club.

Some projects might require fire protection or even bomb-proofing being built into the design. Often you will work alongside electricians, plumbers, heating and ventilation engineers and painters and decorators. You might even get to work abroad. Best of all is the choice of career opportunities open to you within the specialist interiors sector. The skills you acquire as a tradesperson will help you progress right to the top. In fact, many successful managing directors of interiors companies started out as trade operatives first.

Have you got what it takes? 

To start a career within the specialist interiors industry you should:

• Be fit and active, and enjoy working indoors and occasionally outdoors
• Enjoy working on a variety of buildings in different locations
• Be good at understanding layout drawings and working with specialist tools
• Enjoy working in small teams, being creative and working to deadlines
• Get satisfaction from seeing a project through from start to finish

Your career

When you start out you will join a specialist company such as a member of the Association of Interior Specialists. You are likely to work for a small specialist interior fit-out company that does complete interior fit-outs - all interior finishing trades - in commercial and retail buildings.

You can expect your career opportunities and pay to increase with the qualifications and skills gained. You may start by learning one ‘interiors’ trade, but later become multi-skilled.

For more information visit the B-Constructive website (go to the careers section) or the ConstructionSkills website (go to the curriculum and careers section) which will tell you all you need to know about a career in construction.

Graduate opportunities 

Options for graduates wishing to work in this specialist sector are increasing. Young professionals, who would like to pursue a career in construction, should consider a general degree like building, quantity surveying or project management and then look into employment opportunities either on their year out in industry or as they leave university.