Working in personal services with GCSEs (or similar)
For most personal services jobs you will need qualifications or experience.
You could start as a cleaner or as a receptionist in a hair or beauty salon. You can do an apprenticeship in many of the personal service areas, such as hair and beauty, pest control or funeral directing.
Example jobs
Cleaner
Cleaning homes or business premises, using cleaning equipment.
Hairdresser or beautician
Apprentice or trainee in a hair and beauty salon.
Dry cleaning or laundry assistant
Taking in and checking items for cleaning, operating cleaning machines, packing items for return.
Receptionist
Answering the phone, booking appointments, customer service, selling products.
Carpet cleaner
Using equipment to clean carpeted areas in homes and commercial buildings.
Pest control technician
Using traps, gas or pesticides to control or remove pests from homes and commercial premises (including ships and planes).
Things you need to know
Typical working conditions
Things you may need to know:
- Some jobs will be outdoors and others will be mainly indoors.
- The working environments are very varied and include shops, salons or private homes.
- The work may involve the use of chemicals (over 18s only).
Qualifications needed
The main qualification required is a willingness to work hard and meet high standards. You need to be trustworthy if you are working in people’s homes. Good customer service skills are also important.
Career path
As you become trained, you can work with less supervision. With further experience, you could become a senior stylist or therapist. In other jobs such as cleaning, you could become a team leader or supervisor. In window cleaning or pest control, you could work in a small team using a van to visit customer sites.
Useful links
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