The digitalisation of the workforce and the resulting notion of the old-school trades dying out has been widely reported on recently. However, what hasn’t been covered is the fact that today, if you are able to master these crafts, you are still able to make a decent living from them.

 

10 Of The Oldest Trades And Experienced Worker Salaries

Jewellery Designer/Maker

Experienced Average Salary        £50,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 40-42

Job Age       135,000 Years Old

 

The best paid out of the old-school trades is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the art of making or designing jewellery, where masters of the craft can make upwards of £50,000. Jewellery making has been around for what’s thought to be 135,000 years, which was determined by a professor in charge of the Neanderthal collection when they found some eagle talons that had a number of cut marks thought to be man-made in order to re-use them as jewellery.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Jewellery Design/Maker

• University

University Of Creative Arts – Jewellery And Silversmithing – Bachelor Of Arts (With Honours)

• College

Bath College – Jewellery

• Apprenticeship

British Academy Of Jewellery – The BAJ Apprenticeship Programme – Jewellery Manufacturing

• Specialist Courses

London Jewellery School – Diploma In Silver Jewellery

 

Carpenter

 

Experienced Average Salary        £40,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 40-45

Job Age           7,000 Years Old

 

The first example of carpentry is considered to be an old water well found in Germany that dates back around 7,000 years. Today carpentry is still a valued profession with over 240,000 employed in the UK today and they still make a great living of £40,000 if the craft is mastered.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Carpenter

• College

Newcastle College – Carpentry And Joinery (Level 1 Diploma)

• Apprenticeship

Dishley Commercial Interiors – Apprentice Site Carpenter & Joiner

• Specialist Courses

City & Guilds – Carpentry Course

 

Stonemason

 

Experienced Average Salary        £35,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 43-45

Job Age           6,000 Years Old

 

Shaping stone today has never been easier thanks to modern day technology but spare a thought for those that were doing it 6,000 years ago. Thankfully the pay is much better now too, with skilled stonemasons able to bring in upwards of £35,000 per year.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Stonemason

• College

Building Crafts College – Advanced Diploma In Stonemasonry

• Apprenticeship

Laing Traditional Masonry – Stonemasonry Apprentice Programme

• Specialist Courses

Ministry Of Stonemasonry – Introduction To Stonemasonry

 

Glassmaker

 

Experienced Average Salary        £35,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 42-44

Job Age            5,500 Years Old

 

You can earn around the same amount today if you are an experienced glassmaker. The craft itself is also about the same age too, thought to originate from Eastern Mesopotamia (a historical region of Western Asia) and Egypt, around 5,500 BC, where the earliest man-made glass objects were beads. It’s also thought that during the Stone age, man used obsidian to craft weapons and decorative objects.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Glassmaker

• University

University Of Hertfordshire – Glass Art

• College

Edinburgh College Of Art – Glass MFA

• Apprenticeship

Apprenticeships.scot – Glass Industry Occupations

• Specialist Courses

The Glass Hub – 1 Day Glassblowing

 

Toolmaker

 

Experienced Average Salary        £30,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 40-42

Job Age               3.3 Million Years Old

 

The oldest trade by quite a distance is toolmaking. This craft has been found to date back an incredible 3.3 million years thanks to an archaeological site known as ‘Lomekwi 3’ in Kenya where they discovered 20 anvils, cores and flakes. The use of these tools is currently unknown, but they’re generally quite large in size with the largest weighing 15kg.

Toolmakers today can earn around £30,000 per year.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Toolmaker

• College

Bishop Auckland College – Toolmaking

• Apprenticeship

Coleg Gwent – Engineering Toolmaking Apprenticeship

• Specialist Courses

Pearson – Engineering Toolmaking

 

Ceramics Designer/Maker

 

Experienced Average Salary        £30,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 40-42

Job Age         24,000 Years Old

 

 

Ceramics designers/makers create products made from clay. The earliest examples were found in what was once called Czechoslovakia dating back to at least 24,000 BC. These ceramics were in the form of animal and figurines, slabs and balls and were made from animal fat and bone mixed with a fine clay-like material.

Today ceramic designers & makers create everything from plates and cups to piggy banks and vases and can earn around £30,000 a year.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Ceramics Designer/Maker

• University

University Of The Arts London – Ceramic Design – Bachelor Of Arts (With Honours)

• College

Nottingham College – Ceramics For Beginners

• Apprenticeship

Leach Pottery – Leach-Seasalt Apprenticeship

• Specialist Courses

Clay College Stoke – Diploma Course

 

Furniture Maker

 

Experienced Average Salary        £30,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 42-44

Job Age           5,000 Years Old

 

The earliest examples of furniture were found in Skara Brae in Scotland. They’re believed to age between 5,500 – 2,500 BC, also known as the Neolithic period and are made from stone.

Furniture makers can make around £30,000 per year due to the style of their work. Independent furniture makers differ from furniture designers as their pieces are usually one-offs, whereas if you are a designer, you create the look for mass-produced furniture.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Furniture Maker

• College

City Of Bristol College – Furniture Making

• Apprenticeship

The Edward Barnsley Workshop – Furniture Making Apprenticeship

• Specialist Courses

The Chippendale International School Of Furniture – Introductory Course

 

Locksmith

 

Experienced Average Salary        £30,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 42-44

Job Age              4,000 Years Old

 

Another one of the ancient trades is locksmithing. Locks originated in Ancient Egypt and Babylon. It was once believed that these locks were small and portable, used to protect goods from thieves on travel routes, but this is not true. It’s now thought that those types of locks would be too sophisticated for that period. They were actually made from wood and were relatively large and crude. The locks had pins in them and could only be moved by a big wooden key, which once inserted, was pushed upwards rather than turned.

Locksmithing is still a valued trade today and you can earn around £30,000 per year.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Locksmith

• Apprenticeship

The Master Locksmiths Association – Apprenticeship In Locksmithing

• Specialist Courses

Gateshead Locksmith Training – Beginners Locksmith Training Course

 

Blacksmith

 

Experienced Average Salary        £30,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 47-49

Job Age     3,500 Years Old

 

The number of blacksmiths pales in comparison to that of carpenters. In 2010 there were only an estimated 600 blacksmiths working professionally in the UK compared to 240,000 carpenters. However, numbers are on the rise and working in this ancient trade can still make you £30,000 a year regardless.

The role of a blacksmiths is one that works with different metals, making and repairing decorative, industrial and everyday items. It can be traced all the way back to the Iron Age with the first instances hailing from what is now known as Syria.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Blacksmith

• University

Hereford College Of Arts – Artist Blacksmithing – Bachelor Of Arts (With Honours)

• College

Chichester College – Blacksmithing & Farriery (Creative Blacksmithing)

• Specialist Courses

Peat Oberon’s School Of Blacksmithing – The Beginner’s Course

 

Upholsterer

 

Experienced Average Salary        £25,000

Typical Hours Per Week                 43-45

Job Age            5,000 Years Old

 

Upholstery became more common in the Middle Ages. This period is now also known as the textile revolution as homes were fitted for the first time with padded seat cushions, decorative wall hangings and bedding. Archaeologists discovered the first examples of upholstery when they found the tomb of Tutankhamun. On the pharaoh’s throne was a scene that showed him sitting on a padded chair, with further studies stating that these padded chairs were still fashionable 150 years later.

The job of an upholsterer can be one that is a freelance or self-employed role, nevertheless you can still earn upwards of £25,000 per year.

 

Example Routes To Becoming A Upholsterer

• University

Robert Gordon University Aberdeen – Gray’s School Of Art – Upholstery

• College

Brockenhurst College – Upholstery

• Apprenticeship

The British Contract Furnishing Association – New Furniture Apprenticeships

• Specialist Courses

The Sewing Shed – Beginners Upholstery Class