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- Earn money by completing practical jobs and repairs for individuals and businesses
- Opportunity to be self-employed or work for a contractor
- With further training and experience you could qualify as a tradesperson, or move into caretaking and maintenance roles
As a handyperson, you'll be responsible for repairing minor faults in people's homes and businesses.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Putting up curtain rails, shelves and picture frames
- Fitting smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and grab rails
- Replacing fuses, plugs and light bulbs
- Fitting door and window locks, and alarms
- Unblocking sinks and fixing leaking taps and overflow problems
- Adjusting or re-hanging doors
- Moving or assembling items of furniture
- Painting and decorating
- Basic gardening services
- Clearing out guttering or minor building repairs
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You could work at a client's home. This work can be physically demanding and you'll travel often.
You'll need
This role would be ideal for someone with excellent practical skills in basic carpentry, plumbing and electrics, customer service skills, the ability to work alone, and the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools.
There are no set entry requirements, but employers would expect you to have good DIY skills. Experience and qualifications in joinery, plumbing or electrics would also be useful.
You could take a short college course to learn DIY skills or gain experience through voluntary work, such as volunteering to help out with DIY jobs for a housing association or a charity. This can give you the chance to pick up skills and make contacts, possibly leading to paid work.
You could also do an intermediate or advanced apprenticeship in a construction trade like plumbing or carpentry.
You may need clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) if you're going to be working with vulnerable groups, like children, the elderly or people with disabilities.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could become a team leader or jobs coordinator with a service and repair company. You could also move into related areas of work like caretaking.
With formal qualifications you could become a qualified tradesperson, like a carpenter or plumber.