Funeral director
Funeral directors organise burials and cremations and support people who have lost a loved one.
Also known as: Undertaker
- Starter salary£24,000 a year
- Experienced£35,000 a year
- Typical hours37 to 42 a week
What you'll do
As a funeral director, you could:
- transfer the deceased from their home or hospital into funeral care
- guide bereaved families through the funeral process
- help families with arrangements, including the date, time and location
- organise services, such as flowers, transport and tribute notices
- make sure family wishes, cultural practices and legal requirements are met
- give families advice about burials, cremations and memorials
- assist with duties on the day of the ceremony
- manage the funeral team and budgets
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.
Skills and knowledge you'll need
You'll need:
- sensitivity and understanding
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- customer service skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work well with others
- business management skills
- the ability to understand people's reactions
- excellent verbal communication skills
- to be able to use a computer and the main software packages confidently
How to become a funeral director
You can get into this job through an apprenticeship or by working your way up.
Apprenticeship
You can apply for a place on an apprenticeship scheme with a funeral services company. Schemes include:
- Funeral Team Member Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
- Funeral Director Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
You'll normally need at least 12 months' experience in funeral services to apply for a funeral director 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
- experience in related work
Work
You could get a job at a funeral home, supporting the work of the team, for example as a funeral arranger.
To do this, you would need:
- customer service experience
- respect and compassion
- excellent communication skills
- good computer and administration skills
As your experience grows, your employer may encourage you to take further training on the job to move into funeral directing.
While working, you could study for qualifications in:
- funeral arranging and administration
- mortuary support
- funeral services
- funeral directing
Restrictions and requirements
You'll usually need a full driving licence for most jobs.
Career path and progression
If you work for a larger funeral organisation, you could be promoted to branch, area or regional manager.
If you have a lot of experience, you may be able to open your own funeral care business.
You could also use your skills to become a tutor and train others how to become a funeral director.
Guides for this industry
Related roles
- Job roleAnatomical pathology technician
- Job roleCemetery worker
- Job roleCrematorium technician
- Job roleEmbalmer
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