The painting trade today: jobs, demand and future
Where do painters work, what does the market demand, and what does the green transition mean for the trade
Building painter is a trade with broad application. Almost everything humans build and live in needs to be treated protected and maintained at some point or another. That means painters are in demand both in boom times when new buildings are going up and in quieter times when it is about maintaining and renovating what we already have.
§Where do painters work?
Most newly qualified painters start in a painting company. But the trade encompasses many different types of workplaces:
- 01Smaller painting companies where you get around to a wide range of tasks
- 02Larger contractor and building companies with painting department
- 03Housing companies and municipalities that maintain their own properties
- 04Industrial and specialist companies with spray or industrial lacquering
- 05Self-employed business when you have experience and wish to stand on your own feet
§What drives demand?
The need for painters is linked to construction in general, but not only. Even when less new is built, the enormous amount of existing buildings in Denmark still need maintenance. Facades must be protected from weather and wind, indoor climate must be kept healthy, and wear must be repaired. Maintenance is a stable and recurring task that does not disappear.
Renovation and energy renovation
En stor del af fremtidens byggeri handler om at forbedre det, der allerede står. Når bygninger energirenoveres — efterisoleres, får nye facader eller udskiftet vinduer — følger der ofte malerarbejde med. Malere spiller også en rolle i at sikre sunde overflader og godt indeklima, hvilket fylder mere og mere i debatten om bæredygtigt byggeri.
§A trade that is hard to automate
Many trades are pressed by automation and artificial intelligence. The painting trade is more robust: the work takes place in complex, changing spaces, requires assessment of substrate and finish, and the last detail often has to be done by hand. A robot can paint a flat plate on a factory, but it can't go into an old apartment, assess the walls and deliver a nice result from corner to corner.
§New materials and methods
The craft doesn't stand still. Paint products become more environmentally friendly and water-based, new tools and application methods come, and demands for documentation and quality rise. As a painter you're therefore never completely done learning — and that's precisely what makes the craft alive to stay in.
“As long as people build, live and care for their houses there will be a need for someone who can give surfaces the right treatment.”