Dryliners for metal stud partitions, boarding and suspended ceilings on commercial and domestic fit-outs — for contractors hiring, and for dryliners looking for work.
We recruit dryliners for interior fit-out work including:
Drylining is split into fixing, boarding and finishing. Tell us which you need — the qualifications differ.
A qualified dryliner normally holds the blue Skilled Worker card. CSCS lists the Level 2 NVQ in Interior Systems (Construction) — with Dry Lining Fixing, Dry Lining Boarder and Dry Lining Finishing pathways — and the Interior Systems Installer apprenticeship as qualifying routes.
Workers still working towards the qualification usually hold a red card: a Trainee card while registered on the NVQ, an Apprentice card on a recognised apprenticeship, or an Experienced Worker card (valid for one year, not renewable) for people with at least a year's recent experience who are registered on the NVQ. Experienced workers can complete the NVQ through an on-site assessment or an Experienced Worker Practical Assessment. The old Industry Accreditation route has closed.
The finishes and interiors trade body, FIS, published a draft carding journey for drylining with CSCS in June 2026. It sets out three routes to a skilled card — Apprentice, Trainee and Experienced Worker — and proposes Fire Safety in Buildings training at application and renewal, with implementation proposed for December 2026. It is a draft, not a current rule: CSCS says cardholders do not yet need to do anything different. A green Labourer card is not a route into the trade — CSCS states that skilled workers holding one will be refused site access.
The ONS counts dry liners in the same occupation group as plasterers, with a median hourly pay of £16.26 for employees in April 2025 — about £130.08 for an 8-hour day. This is official national benchmark data, not a rate we are offering: pay for any role depends on the site, the location and the terms agreed. See our labourer day rates guide for the other trades.
Sources: CSCS Card Finder (occupation: Dry Lining); FIS and CSCS draft drylining carding journey (June 2026); ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025, SOC 2020 unit group 5321. Accessed 25 September 2026.
Send a staffing enquiry and we aim to respond within one business day. Include:
Registration is free and does not guarantee work. We don't run a job board — we contact you when suitable work comes up. Have ready:
Usually the blue Skilled Worker card, which needs a Level 2 NVQ in Interior Systems (Construction) — dry lining fixing, boarding or finishing — or the Interior Systems Installer apprenticeship, plus a CITB Health, Safety and Environment test passed within the last two years.
A draft published by FIS and CSCS in June 2026 setting out three routes to a skilled drylining card — Apprentice, Trainee and Experienced Worker — with implementation proposed for December 2026. It is not yet a requirement.
No. CSCS states that skilled workers holding a Labourer card will be refused site access, and the Labourer card is not a training route into drylining.
The ONS groups dry liners with plasterers; the median for that group was £16.26 an hour for employees in April 2025, about £130.08 for an 8-hour day. This is a national benchmark, not a promised rate.
More on hiring and working in this trade.
