Painters and decorators
Those working in this unit group apply paint, varnish, wallpaper and other protective and decorative materials to interior and exterior walls and surfaces, paint designs on wood, glass, metal, plastics and other materials, and stain, wax and French polish wood surfaces by hand.
- Employees (UK)
- 22k
- Median annual pay
- £30,889
- Exposure score ?
- 0.3/10 Minimal 0.5/10 Minimal strict reading, with tools is 0.5/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.3/10
- Wage exposure
- £20m £34m
Higher exposure than 19% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
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Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
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Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
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Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
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Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
-
Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Paperhangers" (47-2142.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 20 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
20 of 20 tasks
Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
Check finished wallcoverings for proper alignment, pattern matching, and neatness of seams.
Mark vertical guidelines on walls to align strips, using plumb bobs and chalk lines.
Cover interior walls and ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, using hand tools.
Apply adhesives to the backs of paper strips, using brushes, or dunk strips of prepasted wallcovering in water, wiping off any excess adhesive.
Measure and cut strips from rolls of wallpaper or fabric, using shears or razors.
Place strips or sections of paper on surfaces, aligning section edges and patterns.
Fill holes, cracks, and other surface imperfections preparatory to covering surfaces.
Measure surfaces or review work orders to estimate the quantities of materials needed.
Apply sizing to seal surfaces and maximize adhesion of coverings to surfaces.
Smooth rough spots on walls and ceilings, using sandpaper.
Set up equipment, such as pasteboards and scaffolds.
Remove old paper, using water, steam machines, or solvents and scrapers.
Staple or tack advertising posters onto fences, walls, billboards, or poles.
Apply thinned glue to waterproof porous surfaces, using brushes, rollers, or pasting machines.
Mix paste, using paste powder and water, and brush paste onto surfaces.
Remove paint, varnish, dirt, and grease from surfaces, using paint remover and water soda solutions.
Apply acetic acid to damp plaster to prevent lime from bleeding through paper.
Tasks via O*NET "Paperhangers" (47-2142.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 20 tasks, with tools
Measure surfaces or review work orders to estimate the quantities of materials needed.
What still needs a person
19 of 20 tasks
Smooth strips or sections of paper with brushes or rollers to remove wrinkles and bubbles and to smooth joints.
Trim rough edges from strips, using straightedges and trimming knives.
Trim excess material at ceilings or baseboards, using knives.
Check finished wallcoverings for proper alignment, pattern matching, and neatness of seams.
Mark vertical guidelines on walls to align strips, using plumb bobs and chalk lines.
Cover interior walls and ceilings of rooms with decorative wallpaper or fabric, using hand tools.
Apply adhesives to the backs of paper strips, using brushes, or dunk strips of prepasted wallcovering in water, wiping off any excess adhesive.
Measure and cut strips from rolls of wallpaper or fabric, using shears or razors.
Place strips or sections of paper on surfaces, aligning section edges and patterns.
Fill holes, cracks, and other surface imperfections preparatory to covering surfaces.
Apply sizing to seal surfaces and maximize adhesion of coverings to surfaces.
Smooth rough spots on walls and ceilings, using sandpaper.
Set up equipment, such as pasteboards and scaffolds.
Remove old paper, using water, steam machines, or solvents and scrapers.
Staple or tack advertising posters onto fences, walls, billboards, or poles.
Apply thinned glue to waterproof porous surfaces, using brushes, rollers, or pasting machines.
Mix paste, using paste powder and water, and brush paste onto surfaces.
Remove paint, varnish, dirt, and grease from surfaces, using paint remover and water soda solutions.
Apply acetic acid to damp plaster to prevent lime from bleeding through paper.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Skilled trades occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons