Funeral director
Funeral directors organise burials and cremations and support people who have lost a loved one.
What you'll do
Day-to-day tasks
In this role you could:
- help families plan funerals, including the time, date and location
- manage team members on the day of the funeral
- organise services like flowers, transport and notices
- explain laws about funerals and help families fill in forms
- advise on types of memorials, like headstones
Working environment
You could work at a funeral home, at a cemetery, in an office or at a client's home.
Your working environment may be outdoors in all weathers.
You may need to wear a uniform.
Career path and progression
If you work for a large organisation, you could be promoted to branch, area or regional manager.
With experience and training, you could become a tutor and teach others how to become a funeral director.
What it takes
Skills and knowledge
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- customer service skills
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- business management skills
- the ability to understand people’s reactions
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to become
You can get into this job by doing an apprenticeship or working your way up.
You can start by taking a funeral team member intermediate apprenticeship.
Once you have one year of experience, you can do a funeral director advanced apprenticeship.
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
More Information
You could get a job at a funeral home, supporting funeral directors. You would then get experience as you learn on the job.
To do this, you usually need:
- customer service experience
- to use a computer well
- administration skills
Qualifications while you work
While you work, you could take a diploma in funeral arranging and administration or a certificate in funeral service.
As you take on more responsibilities, you could do the diploma in funeral directing or the diploma in funeral service.
You can get more advice about training to work in the funeral service from the British Institute of Funeral Directors and the National Association of Funeral Directors.
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This page contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.