Trade job advert template for employers and recruiters

Use this template to describe a real vacancy, with the work, pay and location near the top. Replace every bracket with confirmed details and remove sections that do not apply. You can copy it without signing up.

This is a writing brief, not a vacancy or a guarantee of applicants. Keep the advert as a draft until the employer has confirmed its contents.

[Job title] – [work location or area]

[Employer or recruitment agency name] is recruiting a [job title] for [brief description of the work].

Job details
Work location: [town/site or base and travel area]
Contract: [permanent/fixed-term/temporary; confirm the arrangement]
Hours and working pattern: [days, start/finish times and any shifts]
Pay: [confirmed amount or range and hour/day/week/month/year]
Overtime and allowances: [confirmed terms, or remove]
Start date and duration: [confirmed details]

The work
[Describe the main tasks, setting and who the person will work with.]

What you need
Essential: [skills, experience or role-specific requirements you can justify]
Desirable: [helpful extras that are not essential]

Travel, tools and support
[Explain travel between sites, any vehicle arrangements, tools supplied and support or training actually provided. Remove anything that does not apply.]

How to apply
[Working application link or recruiting email address]
[What to send and the closing date]
[Contact route for questions or help with the application process]

Advertised by [organisation].
[If an agency is advertising: make the agency’s role and the employment arrangement clear.]

Make the brief specific to the trade

These are prompts for the hiring manager, not facts to add automatically:

• Electrician: explain the type of installation or maintenance, setting, travel area and whether testing is part of the role.
• Carpenter or joiner: specify first fix, second fix, fit-out or workshop work, and the materials and drawings involved.
• Plumber: distinguish planned installation, maintenance and reactive work. Say whether call-outs form part of the job.
• Labourer: describe the tasks, site location, hours, supervision and any task-specific requirements.

List only qualifications, cards, licences or experience that fit the actual job. Ask the hiring manager to explain each essential requirement; do not copy another employer’s list.

Check the pay wording and application route

Keep the amount and pay period together. A day rate needs the expected working day explained; an annual salary needs the working pattern. Describe overtime or allowances separately using the employer’s confirmed terms.

Open the application link on a phone and check the job title, location and closing date agree with the advert. Say what applicants need to send and who handles questions. Do not ask people to post identity documents or private details in public comments.

For UK Trade Jobs, choose the matching pay period in the job form and keep the description consistent with it. The form accepts an application email or URL; check your intended destination before publication.

Write requirements around the work

Describe what the person needs to do, rather than the age or background you imagine for them. Separate essentials from preferences and make the application instructions accessible.

For Great Britain, use Acas’s job advertising guidance to check language, requirements and the application process. In Northern Ireland, use the local job advertising guidance and Labour Relations Agency for employment advice.

Recruiters: confirm the vacancy and your role

Get the hirer’s approval for the vacancy and the wording. Identify the agency advertising it and make clear whether the role is temporary or permanent. Confirm the work, location, pay and requirements before reusing an advert across channels.

For Great Britain, GOV.UK sets out the agency advertising requirements. Northern Ireland has its own employment agency rules. Use the guidance for the place where you operate; this template does not replace those checks.

An advert and a job description do different jobs

The advert should help someone decide whether to apply. A fuller job description can set out responsibilities and reporting lines. Keep them consistent, and link to the longer document when it helps applicants.

For an apprenticeship, use the separate apprenticeship advert template, which includes the training provider and programme details.

Ready to advertise the vacancy?

Compare where to advertise trade jobs if you are still choosing a channel. If you want help preparing a UK Trade Jobs listing, send the advert or confirmed details first. An enquiry does not start a paid plan or publish the job.

Ask for help with your advert.

Prepared and source-checked with AI assistance on 10 October 2026. How we research and review.