Apprentice Upholsterer

Household / Department- Master of the Household’s Office- Section / Branch- Craft- Location- Windsor Castle- Contract/recruitment type- Apprenticeship- Start date- April 2024- End date- April 2027- Starting salary- £23,400- Hours of work- 37.5- About the role**It’s learning a new craft and building the foundations for a lasting career.**
- It’s feeling valued for your growing skillset. And it's the satisfaction of caring for a truly diverse furniture collection. This is what makes an apprenticeship with The Royal Household so different._

The range of furniture in the Royal residencies is extensive and contains many unique pieces that display the skill of craftsmen from across the centuries. A lot of items are in regular use, and you’ll join our team of experts who ensure they are properly conserved, whilst also kept in good working order.

Working alongside master crafts people, you’ll complete a Level Three Furniture Making Upholstery Apprenticeship over two years. This will involve regular, structured off-the-job block learning with a separate training provider based in Oxford, which will consist of a one week block every couple of months. Here you’ll learn the vital foundation theoretical skills of furniture upholstery.

Back in the workshop, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to put your theory into practice, undertaking a structured learning programme with experts in the field.

With support and guidance from colleagues, you'll create and restore functional upholstery, discovering a range of specialist techniques and methods, putting your newly learned skills to use.

And you’ll also learn how to run a workshop effectively, including the upkeep of specialist tools, Health & Safety procedures and the maintenance of large equipment.

The variety of work will inspire and challenge you, but we’ll be with you every step of the way. Above all, you’ll play an important part in maintaining historic items, whilst also keeping traditional skills alive for generations to come.

This is a 3 year Apprenticeship Programme which will predominantly be based in Windsor Castle with Occasional travel to London and Oxford.
- About you- Manual dexterity and the ability to handle objects with care.
- An ability to think critically to resolve issues, good at problem-solving and troubleshooting.
- Good communication and interpersonal skills to be able to follow instructions independently and work well as part of a team.
- An ability to concentrate for long periods and perform repetitive tasks to a consistent standard.
- Ability to manage time effectively.
- To have the desire to understand historic furniture and conservation related challenges.
- BenefitsWe know that to deliver our best work; we need to feel at our best. That’s why at the Royal Household we offer a generous benefits package designed to support your wellbeing and life priorities.

Enjoy 25 days annual leave, rising to 30 days (plus bank holidays) dependent on the length of time you have worked for us.

Our excellent non-contributory pension plan (we’ll contribute5% and you can contribute more if you wish) is highly valued by our employees, as is complimentary lunch on-site to keep you

fuelled throughout the day.

We also offer a range of leave options to support your life priorities, such as parental pay and leave and volunteering days, as well as benefits to support your physical and mental wellbeing.

Other perks include 20% off at our Royal Collection Trust Shops and complimentary admission tickets across all our locations, along with many more exclusive employee discounts.

Find out more about the full range of benefits available to our employees here.