Upholstery Apprentice

**Apprentice Upholsterer**

**Apprenticeship summary**

Being an Upholsterer, you will be required to work in anyone of a wide range of production environments. Workplaces can be a variety of size from small work-shops through to large commercial factories; either way you will need to be able to work independently and as a part of team.

**Duties of an upholsterer could include**:

- Stripping down items of furniture from covers back to the wooden frame
- Prepare frames for upholstery including adding different densities of foams and fibres
- Using a wide range of spring systems including serpentine, super loop, box spring units
- Filling cushions using fibre, foam and feathers
- Working with a large range of materials including fabrics and leathers
- Cutting various materials for ready for upholstery
- Tension and straining materials to position them
- Patten matching fabrics within tolerance
- Using a range of trimmings and finishing’s including buttons, facings, piping and decorative studs
- Using traditional methods such as slip stitch, tacking and hand sewing
- Using traditional fillings including coir fibre, horse hair, hessian and cotton felt
- Using wide range compressed air equipment including clip, frame, staple, pin and vertex guns
- Use a range of hand tools including scissors, shears, staple lifter, tin snips, hammers mallets and pincers
- Creating different types of pleats including scroll arm, envelope and puckering
- Cutting materials with templates
- Sewing fabrics ready for upholstery
- Good housekeeping and general labouring duties
- Good organisation workloads ready production
- Working with mechanical components from recliner actions to bed actions
- Completing leather repair and service work to furniture
- Checking and ordering new stock, managing storage of stock
- Working as part of a team on piece work production
- Working independently, using your own initiative

**Weekly wage**

£192.40 to £380.00

**Working week**

Monday - Friday 7am - 4pm

Total hours per week: 40.00

**Expected duration**

16 months

**Apprenticeship level**

Intermediate Level 2 (GCSE)

**Requirements and prospects**

**Desired skills**

Skills required to becoming an Upholster:

- Excellent attitude
- Be punctual
- Be able to adjust to working on different designs and models of furniture
- Excellent team working skills
- Basic numeracy skills
- Excellent attention to detail
- Being able to work within a factory environment
- Being able to work confidently under pressure
- The ability to meet targets and deadlines

**Personal qualities**
- Excellent attitude and attendance
- Willingness to learn
- Enthusiastic and practical
- Friendly and be passionate about the role

**Desired qualifications**

**Future prospects**

Progression Opportunities:

- Advanced Apprenticeship in Modern Upholstery, traditional Upholstery, Supervision or Furniture design and Prototyping
- Progression within the organisation to include more responsibility and wider range of production work.

If this sounds like you we would love to hear from you

South West Upholstery is a family-run business, and we have been around since 1999. We're a friendly bunch, and hold regular socials. We upholster all sorts of furniture, from household armchairs to pub seating, and also create brand new furniture from scratch. If you think this might be for you we'd love to hear from you.

**Job Types**: Full-time, Apprenticeship

**Salary**: £192.80-£380.00 per week

**Benefits**:

- Company events
- Company pension
- On-site parking

Schedule:

- Monday to Friday

Work Location: One location