Floor covering installers
Career Overview
Floor covering installers install carpet, wood, linoleum, vinyl, and other resilient floor coverings in residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings.
People in this occupation:
- Work for construction companies, floor covering contractors and carpet outlets
- May be self-employed
- Must be able to visualize spaces accurately in order to make estimates of materials
- Must have a good sense of colour and pattern
- Should have good physical strength and be able to bend, stretch and kneel for extended periods of time
- Must have good customer service skills
- Must be able to work under limited supervision
Job Titles
Duties
Floor covering installers perform some or all of the following duties:
- Inspect, measure and mark surfaces to be covered
- Measure, cut and fasten underlay and under-padding
- Measure, cut and install carpeting using hand or machine stitcher, seaming iron, bonding tape or other bonding materials
- Stretch carpeting using knee-kicker or power stretcher and secure carpeting to floor or other surfaces using staple gun or other devices
- Measure, cut and install resilient floor covering using adhesive, rollers and other hand tools
- Install hardwood floors, such as strip floors, block floors or plank floors, using glue, staples, nails or other means
- Inspect and repair damaged floor coverings
- May estimate material and labour costs
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
1,980% Employed Full Time
41%Workers in this occupation typically work indoors. However, some tiling may also be done outdoors (i.e., patios, balconies, steps and swimming areas).
Floor covering installers typically work a standard 40-hour workweek. Some overtime may also be required. Work is mostly done during the day, however, some evening work may be required.
Workers in this occupation must be able to kneel for extensive periods of time. They must also be able to lift carpet rolls and boxes of tiles. Risks associated with this profession include knee injuries from kneeling and back injuries from lifting heavy materials.
Career Pathways
Experienced floor covering installers may advance to supervisory positions, move into sales or work as private contractors. Some may also start their own retail businesses.
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
It’s important to understand what kinds of occupations align with your interests.
For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Education, Training and Skills
- Completion of a three- to four-year apprenticeship program (or a combination of more than four years of work experience in the trade and some high school, college or industry courses)
- A combination of work experience and class-time instruction
Classroom training typically takes place over three five-week periods, however, part-time and distance education may be available. This apprenticeship program is currently not offered by a public post secondary institution in B.C., but it is offered by the International Standards and Training Alliance Floor Covering Professionals.
Interprovincial trade certification, Red Seal certification, is available to qualified floor covering installers through SkilledTradesBC.
Workers with 6,840 hours of documented directly related work experience can challenge the interprovincial Red Seal examination. For more information, please see SkilledTradesBC's website at https://skilledtradesbc.ca.
Floor covering installers who are certified for that occupation by a regulator elsewhere in Canada can apply for the same certification from the regulator in B.C. Under the terms of the Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), most applicants who are transferring their credentials from elsewhere in Canada will not be required to complete additional training or testing. However, the B.C. regulator may ask applicants to provide further information such as a letter of good standing, references, or criminal record check.
For those who trained outside of Canada and never received certification from any Canadian jurisdiction, a full assessment is likely needed. Most occupational regulators have a process for assessment and recognize internationally trained applicants.
Contact SkilledTradesBC for details on how to apply for certification in B.C.
For information about labour mobility in Canada, visit www.workersmobility.ca.
View a list of Professional Regulatory Authorities in B.C.
Trades training resources
Visit our trades training page at www.workbc.ca/trades to learn about apprenticeship and trades training in B.C.
Education programs in B.C.
Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Keeping track of and assessing your performance, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Managing one’s own time and the time of others.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Understanding how new information could be used to solve current and future problems in making decisions.
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
1,980Employment by Region
| Region | Employment | % Employment of this Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 65 | 3.3% |
| Kootenay | 80 | 4.0% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 1,025 | 51.6% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 45 | 2.3% |
| Northeast | 0 | 0.0% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 330 | 16.6% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 430 | 21.7% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2024-2034)
720Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2024-2034)
| Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 20 | 1.5% |
| Kootenay | 20 | 0.2% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 420 | 2.0% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 0 | -2.0% |
| Northeast | Not available | Not available |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 150 | 1.2% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 110 | 0.3% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
| Industry | Job Openings (2024-2034) |
|---|---|
| Construction | 670 |
| Retail Trade | 50 |
Resources
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British Columbia Construction Association (BCCA)www.bccassn.com
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British Columbia Floor Covering Association (BCFCA)www.bcfca.com
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BuildForce Canadawww.buildforce.ca/en
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Canadian Home Builders’ Association of British Columbia (CHBA BC)chbabc.org
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Certified Flooring Installers Association (CFI)cfiinstallers.org
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Construction Industry Training Network (CITN)trainingnetwork.ca
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Construction Industry Training Network (CITN)trainingnetwork.ca
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International Standards & Training Alliance (INSTALL): Floorcovering Professionalsinstallfloors.org
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SkilledTradesBCskilledtradesbc.ca/
