Education for working in the funeral profession
Depending on the role, there are a number of skills and qualifications that we, and most other funeral directors, look for when recruiting.
Here’s a handy outline of the skills and qualifications you may need to work in this field.
When anyone starts working with us, they undertake health and safety, environmental awareness, manual handling and fire safety training, via our inhouse, online learning system. During a career at H. Porter & Sons, you can expect to be offered continuing training and skills development, relevant to your role.
- A driver/bearer would need to hold a full driving licence, be comfortable and confident carrying weight, be smartly turned out and be courteous and friendly. If you would like to enhance your employability, the NAFD (National Association of Funeral Directors) offers Funeral Service Awareness training https://nafdeducation.org.uk/nafd-qualifications/funeral-service-awareness-training/ Or the BIFD (British Institute of Funeral Directors) offers an introduction to funeral service course: https://www.bifd.org.uk/education-training/
- A mortuary technician/assistant should have an interest in the care of the deceased. Ideally, you would have a science and/or care background, such as science A levels or a BTEC in health and social care, as well as some experience in the field. H. Porter & Sons has a requirement that our mortuary technician must hold membership of the British Institute of Embalmers (BIOE.) The following document will help you with this: https://www.bioe.co.uk/upload/7340390.pdf?bcs-agent-scanner=e9664465-d753-b940-8d38-2f6554809f9f
- At H. Porter & Sons we require our funeral directors to hold, or be working towards, the NAFD’s Funeral Directing and Administration Certificate and/or the Diploma in Funeral Arranging:
https://nafdeducation.org.uk/nafd-qualifications/nafd-funeral-arranging-and-administration-faa-certificate/
https://nafdeducation.org.uk/nafd-qualifications/nafd-dipfd-direct-entry-route/
Other funeral directors may not require you to be qualified, and may recruit on the basis of experience alone. - A funeral arranger/administrator would need to have a high standard of presentation, good administration organisation skills, be confident on the phone and when meeting people face to face, have excellent computer skills and have a good approach with people in general.
These are some further resources to support your search for funeral education:
https://ifdcollege.org/education/courses