How to become a baker or flour confectioner

Official title: Bakers and flour confectioners

Also called: Master baker, Confectioner, Skilled baker, Baker's manager, Baker's assistant, Flour confectioner, Baker and confectioner, Confectioner's assistant, Table man, First hand, Cake maker, Cake artist

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

Main 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

How to become one

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically received on-the-job or by apprenticeship. Apprenticeships and traineeships leading to NVQs/SVQs or equivalent qualifications at levels 2 and 3 are available.

Ways in

• Apprenticeship (England): Baker (level 2). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0191.

Pay · Outlook

• Median full-time pay: £29,117 a year The middle half earn £24,481 to null.
• About 35,400 people work in this job now, and about 35,400 are projected by 2035. (+0.2%)

Related jobs

• Butchers
• Fishmongers and poultry dressers
• Chefs
• Cooks
• Catering and bar managers

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Questions people ask

How do I become a baker or flour confectioner?

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically received on-the-job or by apprenticeship. Apprenticeships and traineeships leading to NVQs/SVQs or equivalent qualifications at levels 2 and 3 are available.

How much does a baker or flour confectioner earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £29,117 a year (Office for National Statistics).

Is a baker or flour confectioner a growing career in the UK?

Employment is projected to stay about the same by 2035: about 35,400 people now and 35,400 later (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a baker or flour confectioner?

Usually not. Only 22% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Baker (level 2).

Sources

• Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
• Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03