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Funeral Director/Embalmer

Kaihautū/Kaiwhakapaipai Tūpāpaku

Funeral directors/embalmers organise and direct funerals, register deaths, and prepare human bodies for visits by families, and for burial or cremation.

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Secondary education

No specific secondary education is required for this job, but English and science to at least NCEA Level 1 is useful. 

Study levels

  • Up to NCEA Level 3
  • Diploma
  • Certificate

Useful experience

Useful experience for funeral directors includes:

  • work dealing with the public, such as in hospitality 
  • counselling, nursing or rest home work.

Work in make-up or cosmetics, and/or work in a hospital or laboratory is useful for embalmers.

What you will do

Funeral directors/embalmers may do some or all of the following:

  • transport bodies from homes, hospitals or accident scenes
  • advise bereaved people on funeral arrangements 
  • prepare and casket bodies for viewing, and for burial or cremation
  • organise the funeral service and reception afterwards
  • transport the casket from the service to the burial or cremation site
  • assist with legal details such as registering the death and dealing with ACC claims.

Skills and knowledge

Funeral directors/embalmers need to have knowledge of:

  • legal and health issues relating to death 
  • human anatomy
  • embalming, and preparing a body for burial 
  • various religious ceremonies, and differences in cultural and religious beliefs about the human body and funerals
  • the legal obligations of working with, and taking care of bodies.
Pay

Funeral directors/embalmers usually earn

$50K-$60K

per year

Job opportunities
Poor
Chances of getting a job as a funeral director/embalmer are poor for those wanting to enter the role, but good for those with experience.
Length of training
1-2
years of training usually required.

Industry

Community Services

Funeral directors/embalmers organise and direct funerals, register deaths, and prepare human bodies for visits by families, and for burial or cremation.

Similar jobs in this industry

Entry requirements

There are no specific requirements to become a funeral director/embalmer.

However, you can complete a New Zealand Diploma in Funeral Directing (Level 5). 

To be accepted into a funeral directing and embalming course, you must:

  • be at least 20 years old
  • be employed in the industry and sponsored by your employer
  • have done at least one year's work in a funeral home.

Chances of getting a job

Chances best for those with funeral directing/embalming experience

Your chances of getting funeral directing/embalming work are strongest if you have relevant experience and qualifications.

Limited opportunities for those looking to get into the role

If you are starting out, chances of getting a job as a funeral director/embalmer are poor because:

  • it is a relatively small occupation. According to the Census, 768 funeral directors/embalmers worked in New Zealand in 2018
  • people tend to stay in the job for a long time, limiting the number of vacancies
  • firms usually prefer to take on experienced people, due to the cost of training
  • an increasing preference for direct cremation (where a body is taken straight to be cremated, and there may be no formal funeral) means less demand for funeral directing/embalming services.

Learning embalming skills increases your chances

You can increase your chances of becoming a funeral director by approaching a funeral firm to work as an embalmer. Embalming skills are useful to employers, and the work gives you a chance to learn other aspects of the role. 

Types of employers varied

Funeral directors/embalmers can work for:

  • large businesses with a number of branches
  • small family-run funeral homes.

Some funeral directors run their own businesses.

Find out more about training

Funeral Directors' Association of NZ Inc
(04) 473 7475 - www.fdanz.org.nz
Funeral Service Training Trust of NZ
(04) 385 9503 - fiona@fstt.org.nz - www.fstt.org.nz
NZ Embalmers Association
(04) 473 7475 - www.nzembalmers.org.nz

Progression and specialisations

Funeral directors/embalmers may progress to work in managerial roles at funeral homes, or establish their own funeral home businesses.

Funeral directors/embalmers may specialise in either funeral directing or embalming. 

Working conditions

Funeral directors/embalmers:

  • work regular business hours, but often have to work evenings or weekends and be on call
  • work in offices, funeral homes, workshops and mortuaries attached to funeral homes
  • travel to hospitals, homes, places of worship, cemeteries, graveyards and crematoriums, and may need to travel to accident sites to transport bodies.

Physical Requirements

Funeral directors/embalmers need to:

  • have a tidy appearance
  • be reasonably fit as they often have to transport bodies and caskets
  • be able to work with formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde – the two chemicals used in embalming.

Useful personal qualities

Funeral directors/embalmers need to be:

  • good communicators
  • patient
  • tactful and able to keep information private
  • mature, responsible and concerned for others
  • able to relate to people from a range of cultures and backgrounds
  • organised and good at planning
  • accurate, with an eye for detail.

Funeral directors/embalmers must also be comfortable working around dead bodies.

 

Industry

Community Services

Funeral directors/embalmers organise and direct funerals, register deaths, and prepare human bodies for visits by families, and for burial or cremation.

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