How to become a kitchen fitter

As with all trades, the job of a kitchen fitter combines physical work and creativity with knowledge and skills. It’s a good all-rounder, drawing on carpentry and joinery skills, with plumbing and tiling, and even decorating, useful complementary skills, if you’re thinking of the whole kitchen refit project.

With new kitchens expected to last 10 - 15 years, there's an evolving demand for talented and skilled tradespeople. If you factor in new homebuilding targets, it could become an even more appealing career path – all the new builds need kitchens too.

Are you thinking about kitchen fitting as your next career?

Whatever your reasons for researching how to become a kitchen fitter, maybe it’s the good rates of pay, the variety in the work, or just that you like to work with your hands and visit different places, it’s useful to think about what skills you already have and what you might still need before you get started.

Have you done any kitchen fitting work before? You’ve helped your mate or your mum to do their kitchen, and you found the work to be a natural fit for you? Problem solving and practical, you felt a strong sense of achievement after a day on the tools. But what’s next? How do you go from being practical with DIY to having the proven competence to be able to market your services or find work as a kitchen fitter?

How to become a kitchen fitter: step by step

Becoming a kitchen fitter usually involves building skills, gaining hands-on experience and developing confidence over time. The steps below give a clear overview of how many people start their journey.

Understand the skills involved

Learn core fitting techniques through training

Gain hands-on experience

Build confidence and a portfolio

Progress into employment or self-employment

What qualifications does a kitchen fitter need?

While qualifications aren’t a formal requirement for kitchen fitting, they can help you stand out to potential customers or potential employers. This is particularly relevant if you’ve not got any qualifications in a related trade, or you’ve not yet built up a portfolio of past work and recommendations that speak for themselves.

Training to become a kitchen fitter

Industry-approved training will not only help you stand out, but it will also give you the underpinning knowledge and a solid level of the broad skills you need.

A short entry-level kitchen fitting course, like the Able Skills 5-Day Kitchen Fitting course, could be enough to get you started. It's accredited by City & Guilds, so you know it meets standards, and it will provide you with the core kitchen fitting skills that you can build your career on. It’s not just the theory; in the 5 days you’ll fully install a kitchen. That’s everything from selecting the right units to finishing off with door furniture.

From there, finding work to build on this could be your next step. Then, more training, a new job, your own business, who knows where it could lead you?

What to expect from a career in kitchen fitting

Kitchen fitting can be a highly rewarding career for people who enjoy practical work and seeing real results at the end of the day. Each installation is different, which keeps the job varied and interesting, and problem solving on site becomes a skill you quickly build confidence in.

The role draws on a range of abilities such as carpentry, basic plumbing and careful finishing, all of which can be learned with the right training and hands-on practice. While experience grows over time, many people find that starting with practical training gives them the confidence and foundation they need to move into work and begin building a successful career in kitchen fitting.

Take your first step into kitchen fitting

If you’re serious about becoming a kitchen fitter, practical training is the best place to start. Our City & Guilds Approved 5-Day Kitchen Fitting Course gives you real hands-on experience installing a full kitchen, making it ideal if you’re new to the trade or changing careers.

View course dates, prices and availability today.