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Painter and decorator
Paints and decorates walls, ceilings and objects so that a room looks beautiful.
Career overview
What a day looks like
A painter and decorator first prepares the surface: removes the old layer and makes it smooth. Then they apply paint or a pattern neatly, without drips.
Try it yourself this week
40 minutes
Work out the cost of redoing your room, on paper
- Use a tape measure to measure the length and width of the walls and write the sizes in a notebook.
- Think about what you'd change: paint the walls, replace the floor, add shelves.
- Make a table: what you need, how much, and roughly what price range you'd look for in a shop or online. Don't buy anything.
- Check you haven't forgotten anything: tools, preparing the walls, cleaning up after the work.
What you'll learn about yourself: Whether you like planning and calculating in advance, or would rather get straight to work.
What you can do next
Next 3 months
Pick colours for your room
Cut out colour samples from magazines and work out which combinations would suit your room.
In six months
Work out the wall area
Measure the walls of your room, calculate the area and write down how much paint you might need.
In a year
Find out where to study
With your parents, find out what training programmes in painting and decorating exist and what you need to get in.
What it pays
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Where to study
No verified information is available in this section yet.
How to get into college
College gets you a profession faster than university. You can apply after grade 9 or after grade 11.
- Colleges accept students both after grade 9 and after grade 11. After grade 9 you study longer — about 3 years 10 months; after grade 11, about 2 years 10 months. The exact length depends on the college and the specialty.
Source: kchk.edu.kz (opens in a new tab) - About 80% of students admitted to colleges in the 2024/25 school year study on a state order, which means in state-funded places (in 2023/24 it was about 70%). But each college and each specialty has its own number of state-funded places.
Source: inbusiness.kz (opens in a new tab) - There are also paid colleges. For example, training as a nurse at ADILMED costs 450,000 ₸ per year. Check the price and conditions on the college's website.
Source: adilmed.kz (opens in a new tab)
UNT: which subjects to take for university
The UNT (Unified National Testing) is Kazakhstan's national university entrance test. You need it to get into university after grade 11.
- The UNT 2026 has three compulsory subjects: History of Kazakhstan, Reading Literacy and Mathematical Literacy. On top of these, you take two profile subjects, chosen to match your specialty.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - In total, the test has 120 questions (maximum 140 points) and you get 4 hours. The format is the same as in 2025.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Profile subjects depend on the group of specialties. For example: information technology — Mathematics and Computer Science; nursing and veterinary medicine — Biology and Chemistry; electrical engineering — Mathematics and Physics; law — World History and Fundamentals of Law. The full list is published by the National Testing Center.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - For creative specialties (for example, media and design), you take History of Kazakhstan and Reading Literacy through the UNT, and two creative exams at the university itself.
Source: testcenter.kz (opens in a new tab) - Some universities have their own admission rules. Nazarbayev University, for example, requires a UNT score of at least 85, a GPA of 4.0 and English at IELTS 6.0 level.
Source: nu.edu.kz (opens in a new tab)
Courses and opportunities
Courses
This selection has no free courses with verified sources. Paid ones are listed for reference — check the price and terms on their website.
- PaidonlineLERNA дизайн интерьера (opens in a new tab)
LERNA.kz
Онлайн-курс по дизайну интерьера на площадке LERNA. Цену и срок уточняй на странице.
Checked: September 2026
Source: lerna.kz (opens in a new tab)
Opportunities near this field
- ProgrammefreeAtlas of New Professions (opens in a new tab)
Минтруда РК и Центр развития трудовых ресурсов
Who it's for: everyone.
When: reference guide, always available.
Atlas of New Professions: which jobs will appear, change or disappear in the next 5–10 years. Free to read.
Checked: September 2026
Source: atlasbt.enbek.kz (opens in a new tab) - Youth centrefreeAstanaages 12–18TUMO Astana (opens in a new tab)
TUMO
Who it's for: teenagers aged 12–18.
When: all year round, opened in February 2026.
A free centre for teenagers with 11 fields, from coding and robotics to film, graphic design and 3D.
Checked: September 2026
Source: astana.tumo.kz (opens in a new tab)
Can you work before you turn 18?
Under Kazakhstan's Labour Code, teenagers can work, but with limits.
- Usually you can work from age 16. From 15 — if you are getting basic or general secondary education. From 14 — only in your free time outside school and only light work. If you are under 16, you need a signature from a parent or legal guardian.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - From 14 to 16 you can work no more than 24 hours a week; from 16 to 18, no more than 36 hours a week.
Source: kodeksy-kz.com (opens in a new tab) - Under-18s must not be given heavy or hazardous work, jobs with full financial liability, night work, overtime or business trips.
Source: mybuh.kz (opens in a new tab)
History of the career
No verified information is available in this section yet.
Well-known people in this field
No verified information is available in this section yet.