jobfacts

Baker

Bakers and flour confectioners — SOC 2020 5432

Bakers and flour confectioners prepare and bake dough, pastry and cake mixtures and make and finish flour confectionary products by hand.

Also calledIndustrial bakerBaking operativeArtisan bakerCraft bakerCake decoratorConfectionerand 28 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,1002025 Provisional
People in the job27,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month343↑ 0.9%on last year · 301st of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time bakers earn, 2025
£29,100 typical£23,800lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£23,800
25%£24,500
Median£29,100
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,100
London!£34,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£33,900
South West!£29,800
Wales!£27,100
Scotland!£24,300
East of England!£20,600
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
East MidlandsNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,100
London£34,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£33,900 (small sample)
South West£29,800 (small sample)
Wales£27,100 (small sample)
Scotland£24,300 (small sample)
East of England£20,600 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
East MidlandsNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £22,900
  • 2024 £25,300
  • 2025 Provisional£29,100
↑ 27% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 343 jobs for bakers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (1 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026330
Jul 2026349
Jun 2026318
May 2026385
Apr 2026354
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026371
Jan 2026361
Dec 2025152
Nov 2025398
Oct 2025371
Sept 2025388
Aug 2025387
Jul 2025373
Jun 2025372
May 2025393
Apr 2025354
Mar 2025423
Feb 2025358
Jan 2025293
Dec 2024157
Nov 2024305
Oct 2024366
Sept 2024386
Aug 2024418
Jul 2024425
Jun 2024414
May 2024457
Apr 2024394
Mar 2024270
Feb 2024235
Jan 2024259
Dec 2023182
Nov 2023186
Oct 2023201
Sept 2023205
Aug 2023301
Jul 2023257
Jun 2023432
May 2023462
Apr 2023357
Mar 2023360
Feb 2023393
Jan 2023415
Dec 2022318
Nov 2022438
Oct 2022522
Sept 2022609
Aug 2022591
Jul 2022635
Jun 2022621
May 2022576
Apr 2022445
Mar 2022463
Feb 2022499
Jan 2022586
Dec 2021387
Nov 2021494
Oct 2021536
Sept 2021505
Aug 2021476
Jul 2021466
Jun 2021388
May 2021324
Apr 2021288
Mar 2021390
Feb 2021189
Jan 2021193
Dec 2020162
Nov 2020241
Oct 2020273
Sept 2020318
Aug 2020276
Jul 2020228
Jun 2020227
May 2020179
Apr 2020169
Mar 2020305
Feb 2020285
Jan 2020331
Dec 2019228
Nov 2019409
Oct 2019329
Sept 2019251
Aug 2019258
Jul 2019282
Jun 2019271
May 2019284
Apr 2019208
Mar 2019196
Feb 2019197
Jan 2019208
Dec 2018134
Nov 2018243
Oct 2018264
Sept 2018303
Aug 2018293
Jul 2018321
Jun 2018287
May 2018256
Apr 2018235
Mar 2018231
Feb 2018207
Jan 2018213
Dec 2017131
Nov 2017220
Oct 2017215
Sept 2017261
Aug 2017286
Jul 2017174
Jun 2017287
May 2017325
Apr 2017315
Mar 2017321
Feb 2017234
Jan 2017231
Is there a shortage of bakers?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was not high.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthUsual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedWell above usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
47%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for food preparation and hospitality trades, which includes bakers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London175
Somerset17
Bristol, City of16
Glasgow City15
Leeds14
North Yorkshire13
Sheffield13
City of Edinburgh12
Cornwall12
Manchester12
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where bakers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 18 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Philippines, India, Morocco, ranking it 187th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of bakers
6.3%!
20%!
29%!
23%!
22%!
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–246.3% (small sample)
25–3420% (small sample)
35–4429% (small sample)
45–5423% (small sample)
55–6422% (small sample)
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!21%
Higher education below degree!4.4%
A levels or equivalent!21%
GCSEs or equivalent!44%
Other qualifications!7.4%
No qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent21% (small sample)
Higher education below degree4.4% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent21% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent44% (small sample)
Other qualifications7.4% (small sample)
No qualificationsNot published

Main employers: retail sale of bread, cakes, flour confectionery and sugar confectionery in specialised stores (29%), manufacture of bread; manufacture of fresh pastry goods and cakes (18%), retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating (15%), wholesale of sugar and chocolate and sugar confectionery (11%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
21%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 44%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
18 months to 2 years
typically

Routes in

Baker

You can get into this job through:

College

You can do a college course, for example:

  • hospitality and catering
  • bakery
  • professional bakery
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could begin your career by applying to do an apprenticeship, such as:

  • Baker Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Lead Baker Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship
  • Pastry Chef Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These can take around 2 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Work your way up

You may be able to start as a trainee or assistant in a bakery shop, supermarket or food production plant, and work your way up through training on the job.

What you’ll need

  • get a food hygiene certificate by completing a short course at a college, a training centre or through your local council

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about working in the baking industry from Tasty Careers and the Federation of Bakers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for baker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Cake decorator

You can get into this job through:

College

You can take a college course to learn the skills needed to do this job. Courses include:

  • sugarcraft
  • bakery and cake decoration
  • professional patisserie and confectionary

Some colleges and adult learning centres run hobby and leisure courses in cake decorating, where you can learn useful tips and techniques.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Work your way up

You could start as an assistant in a bakery or patisserie and do training on the job.

Apply directly

You could apply for jobs if you've got the right level of skill.

For example, you might have gained skills by decorating cakes for family or friends on special occasions.

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

If you're displaying your work online, make sure you:

  • put a watermark on your images to stop others from copying them
  • check copyright terms if you're using popular characters or logos in your decoration designs
Further information

You can get more details about a career in cake decorating from Tasty Careers.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for cake decorator. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • weighs ingredients according to recipe
  • mixes ingredients using hand or machine to obtain the required consistency
  • rolls and cuts pastry, stretches, kneads and moulds dough to form bread, rolls and buns
  • fills and glazes pastry, mixes ingredients for cakes
  • bakes bread, pastry and cakes
  • makes cake decorations, spreads icing, fillings and toppings on products

Skills

  • apply GMP
  • apply HACCP
  • apply requirements concerning manufacturing of food and beverages
  • create new recipes
  • exert quality control to processing food
  • liaise with colleagues
  • liaise with managers
  • perform services in a flexible manner
  • administer ingredients in food production
  • care for food aesthetic
  • ensure correct use of bakery equipment
  • follow hygienic procedures during food processing
  • make artistic food creations
  • manufacture confectionery

Knowledge

  • food safety principles
  • bakery ingredients
  • bakery production methods
  • crafting

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes bakers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.