Occupation
Tile setter
Tile setters prepare surfaces and install ceramic, porcelain, stone, and glass tile on floors, walls, and wet areas. Most of the skill sits in the preparation: a substrate that is not flat, waterproofed, or properly primed will show up as lippage, cracking, or a failed shower long after the job is finished. Layout decisions at the start determine how the finished work reads.
Also known as: Tiler · Tile and stone setter · Wall and floor tiler
Occupation content
Part of Skilled trades, maintenance and repair
What the work involves
- Inspect and prepare substrates: levelling, patching, priming, and installing membranes or backer board.
- Set out the layout so cuts fall sensibly and lines run true through the room and its features.
- Apply adhesive and set tile to plane, using levelling systems and spacers where needed.
- Cut tile and stone with wet saws, grinders, and drills for outlets, pipes, and edges.
- Grout, seal, and clean finished surfaces and install trims, transitions, and movement joints.
- Waterproof showers and wet rooms and test the installation before tiling over it.
How people commonly enter
- A registered tilesetting apprenticeship with a flooring or finishing contractor.
- A college or trade-school tile installation programme used to enter the trade.
- Entry as a tile setter's helper doing preparation and cutting, moving to setting with experience.
- Manufacturer and trade-association installation training taken by working installers to add methods and systems.
Typical training: Apprenticeship
Licensing: Not typically licensed
Pathways: Apprenticeship route
Typical work context
Client sites · Physically active · Predictable routine · Varied work · Works independently
Related interests
Realistic (hands-on) · Artistic (creative)
Related aptitude preparation
These are preparation links only. They do not measure eligibility for this occupation and no score here qualifies or disqualifies anyone.
Skills to practise
Practice suites
Related learning
Family-level learning links for Skilled trades, maintenance and repair.
Official sources
Labour-market facts such as pay and employment projections are not reproduced here. Open an official source below for figures, with its own geography and reference period.
- US BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Construction and extraction occupations · United States
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- Red Seal Program — Designated Red Seal trades · Canada
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- O*NET OnLine — occupation search: tile setter · United States
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Labour-market context (not part of exploration match)
This is broad family-level context for Skilled trades, maintenance and repair in Canada, not a figure for Tile setter. It does not affect matching scores and is not an eligibility determination.
This is a broad Skilled trades, maintenance and repair family. Explore the official profile for the chosen occupation; entry education and training can differ within the family.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Skilled trades, maintenance and repair: education pathways
Some roles in Skilled trades, maintenance and repair may be regulated. Confirm whether the specific role requires registration, certification, or a jurisdiction-specific licence.
Canada Job Bank Career Planning · Canada · Current official profile; consult source for its release period
Skilled trades, maintenance and repair: licensing
Find jobs
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- Search Canada Job Bank · Canada
- Search USAJOBS · United States federal
- Search EURES · European Union / EEA
- Search Indeed · International (choose location on Indeed)