Nottinghamshire funeral directors to offer trainee position within the business

A trainee programme set up by Nottinghamshire’s largest independent funeral directors is offering the opportunity to gain five qualifications to kick-start a career in the funeral industry as the UK faces the highest levels of unemployment in five years.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The four-year residential course is run by AW Lymn which has branches in both Hucknall and Bulwell, and offers the chance to work in each department of the business ranging from fleet maintenance to the mortuary.

It is open to those with at least two A-level passes or equivalent. and welcomes anyone with a true interest in the funeral sector who is looking for a career change, an alternative to university or who has faced redundancy due to the pandemic.

Trainees on the programme will also have the opportunity to live in a shared apartment with others who are working their way through the scheme.

Jonathan Baker was the first person to go through the new training scheme at AW Lymn 20 years agoJonathan Baker was the first person to go through the new training scheme at AW Lymn 20 years ago
Jonathan Baker was the first person to go through the new training scheme at AW Lymn 20 years ago

The apartment, which is based above Lymns’ head office in central Nottingham, has four en-suite bedrooms and a communal living area and is included in the programme, with trainees paid their wages on top.

Altogether, the programme offers placements in all eight areas of the business, which includes funeral arranging and directing, stone masonry, floristry, coffin preparation department, mortuary, fleet maintenance, driver/bearer and administration.

At the end of the programme, trainees will put everything they have learned into action at one of the funeral homes in the business, which could be Hucknall or Bulwell.

Pete Clarson, commercial director at AW Lymn, said: “One of the reasons we originally put this programme together was to offer more choices to those looking for alternative career choices other than attending university.

"Our programme enables the trainees to gain the relevant qualifications and come out in a position where they are completely ready for the industry.

“We allocate time around all the different departments of the business, so trainees understand the role from each perspective of the team.

“We know that becoming a funeral director is very often a vocation and not just a job and so it is of utmost importance that the people we train are given the best support, advice and direction possible during their training in order to nurture their passion for helping people at their time of greatest need.”

One of the first trainees to go through the programme was Jonathan Baker, who started in 2001 and has now risen through the ranks to the role of senior funeral director for the Mansfield area.

Jonathan joined AW Lymn while still at school studying for his A-levels.

He said when he was given the choice of doing work experience, he turned to the funeral directors which led to him working through the school holidays as a bearer and then became the first person to go through the new training programme.

Jonathan, now aged 37, who is still working for A.W Lymn 20 years later, said: “I was originally drawn to the world of funeral directing because of the tradition and formality attached to the role, and the time spent throughout the programme ignited that passion.

"Being given the chance to experience every aspect of the business you can then go on to work in whatever department suits you best – there are so many opportunities.”

To apply for the next trainee position, click here.