jobfacts

Caretaker

Caretakers — SOC 2020 6232

Caretakers supervise and undertake the care and maintenance of church, school, office and other buildings, their facilities, fixtures and contents.

Also calledJanitorCollege porterSchool site managerSite managerSynagogue attendantMortuary keeperand 54 more titles
Typical full-time pay£29,0002025 Provisional
People in the job54,000across the UK
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,000↓ 4.7%on last year · 187th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time caretakers earn between £25,700 and £32,900 a year.

What full-time caretakers earn, 2025
£29,000 typical£23,000lowest 10%£25,70025%£34,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£25,700–£32,900)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£23,000
Lowest 20% earn less than£25,200
25%£25,700
Median£29,000
75%£32,900
Top 20% earn more than£34,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £29,000
London£32,300
East of England!£29,400
Scotland!£28,800
South East£28,600
East Midlands!£27,200
Yorkshire and The Humber!£26,600
North West£26,500
North East!£25,800
Wales!£24,800
South West!£24,400
West Midlands!£23,900
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £29,000
London£32,300
East of England£29,400 (small sample)
Scotland£28,800 (small sample)
South East£28,600
East Midlands£27,200 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£26,600 (small sample)
North West£26,500
North East£25,800 (small sample)
Wales£24,800 (small sample)
South West£24,400 (small sample)
West Midlands£23,900 (small sample)
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £25,100
  • 2024 £27,100
  • 2025 Provisional£29,000
↑ 16% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,000 jobs for caretakers are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026919
Jul 20261,064
Jun 2026Not published
May 20261,130
Apr 20261,013
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026950
Jan 20261,147
Dec 2025512
Nov 20251,130
Oct 20251,237
Sept 20251,265
Aug 2025976
Jul 20251,175
Jun 20251,207
May 20251,209
Apr 20251,000
Mar 20251,118
Feb 20251,057
Jan 20251,161
Dec 2024705
Nov 20241,117
Oct 20241,158
Sept 20241,323
Aug 20241,007
Jul 20241,297
Jun 20241,349
May 20241,264
Apr 20241,287
Mar 20241,108
Feb 20241,136
Jan 20241,427
Dec 20231,068
Nov 20231,199
Oct 20231,109
Sept 20231,215
Aug 2023980
Jul 20231,149
Jun 20231,620
May 20231,491
Apr 20231,200
Mar 20231,438
Feb 20231,385
Jan 20231,682
Dec 20221,321
Nov 20221,763
Oct 20221,986
Sept 20222,036
Aug 20221,719
Jul 20221,953
Jun 20222,017
May 20222,044
Apr 20221,483
Mar 20221,698
Feb 20221,546
Jan 20221,798
Dec 20211,512
Nov 20211,671
Oct 20211,684
Sept 20212,005
Aug 20211,317
Jul 20211,567
Jun 20211,420
May 20211,382
Apr 20211,003
Mar 20211,251
Feb 2021796
Jan 2021927
Dec 2020902
Nov 2020884
Oct 20201,145
Sept 20201,194
Aug 2020702
Jul 2020743
Jun 2020661
May 2020617
Apr 2020599
Mar 20201,064
Feb 20201,299
Jan 20201,159
Dec 2019826
Nov 2019990
Oct 20191,036
Sept 20191,068
Aug 2019898
Jul 20191,098
Jun 20191,128
May 20191,472
Apr 2019855
Mar 20191,305
Feb 2019847
Jan 20191,095
Dec 2018665
Nov 20181,068
Oct 20181,072
Sept 2018986
Aug 2018850
Jul 2018997
Jun 20181,140
May 2018906
Apr 2018870
Mar 20181,024
Feb 2018915
Jan 20181,458
Dec 20171,019
Nov 20171,036
Oct 20171,258
Sept 20171,093
Aug 2017947
Jul 20171,082
Jun 20171,437
May 20171,138
Apr 2017917
Mar 20171,146
Feb 2017926
Jan 20171,084
Is there a shortage of caretakers?
Not high

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

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertain in multiple indicators: change in hourly wage, visa density.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
15%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for housekeeping and related services, which includes caretakers. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London835
Manchester73
Birmingham53
North Yorkshire44
Bristol, City of38
Bradford37
Cheshire West and Chester37
Brighton and Hove36
Liverpool33
Sheffield32
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where caretakers are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of caretakers
n/p
n/p
12%!
26%!
39%
17%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–34Not published
35–4412% (small sample)
45–5426% (small sample)
55–6439%
65+17% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!19%
Higher education below degree!11%
A levels or equivalent26%
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications!11%
No qualifications!11%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent19% (small sample)
Higher education below degree11% (small sample)
A levels or equivalent26%
GCSEs or equivalent22%
Other qualifications11% (small sample)
No qualifications11% (small sample)

Main employers: primary education (27%), general secondary education (16%), general public administration activities (6%), general cleaning of buildings (4.8%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
19%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 26%
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do a Property Maintenance Operative, or Facilities Services Operative, Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship.

These can take between 1 and 2 years to complete.

Entry requirements

Employers will set their own entry requirements.

Apply directly

You can apply directly for caretaker job vacancies. You'll need good practical skills, and some employers may ask for GCSEs in English and maths.

Experience in building maintenance, cleaning, plumbing, carpentry, electrics or gardening will be useful.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

You may need a driving licence for some jobs.

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

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • locks and unlocks doors and entrances at appropriate times
  • supervises and/or undertakes the cleaning and maintenance of premises
  • controls heating, lighting and security systems
  • undertakes minor repairs and notifies owner of need for major repairs
  • checks fire and safety equipment for adequate functioning

Skills

  • comply with legal regulations
  • examine the conditions of buildings
  • execute inspection walkway
  • follow company standards
  • handle customer complaints
  • liaise with managers
  • manage cleaning activities
  • manage ground maintenance
  • register information on arrivals and departures
  • apply conflict management
  • clean rooms
  • clean surfaces
  • deliver correspondence
  • ensure compliance with noise standards

Knowledge

  • budgetary principles

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for leisure, travel and related personal service occupations, a group of 11 jobs that includes caretakers.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 5.6%about 41,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035421,000including 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.