A.W. Lymn reports shift in entry paths of recruits

Independent funeral directors, A.W. Lymn The Family Funeral Service, has reported a shift in the entry paths of recent recruits looking to start a career in the funeral industry.

A.W. Lymn said it has traditionally seen people joining the business from other funeral firms or starting their careers as apprentices within the business. However, over recent years it has noticed a new trend in their incoming employees, several of whom hail from jobs with no link to the funeral sector.

Philip Wilson, who worked as a pastry chef from 2011 to 2022 at Michelin star restaurants, is now a funeral arranger and conductor at A.W. Lymn, and former teacher Becky Hogg is now a funeral arranger at the firm.

A.W. Lymn said that due to ‘The Great Resignation’, it is estimated that 41% of people are likely to leave their job within the next year, with a variety of causes at play.

According to new data from Indeed’s Work Happiness Score, over 36% of people are unhappy with their job. 

Pete Clarson, commercial director at A.W. Lymn, said: “The pandemic had an unprecedented effect on the UK’s collective mental health. Being stuck inside combined with reports of daily death tolls seems to have caused many people to evaluate if they were enjoying their current job. 

“A.W. Lymn has been employing a variety of people from different working backgrounds and training them up to work within the industry; from arranging the funerals to arranging the flowers, there’s a role for everyone.” 

Hogg added: “I originally started out as a teacher in 2009, a career that I had fallen into as I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I loved the actual teaching part, directly looking after children and helping them develop and grow was very satisfying, but it was only a small part of my job.

“I knew I wanted to continue looking after and caring for people, but I didn’t know where to go. It was in 2017 when I decided to fully change my career and took a job in a crematorium as an admin assistant for four years, but I wanted to get more involved in the industry. I then moved to A.W. Lymn to work as a funeral arranger.”

Wilson said: “Joining A.W. Lymn in 2021 has changed my career for the better. Shifts as a chef could sometimes last up to 19 hours, and there was nothing personal about the job whereas at A.W. Lymn I see us making a real difference in the community. 

“I love looking after the people that walk through the door, it feels like the job has a purpose that’s more involved in making people’s lives easier. Funerals can be very stressful both physically and mentally, so to give that support is fantastic, and I think people understand that as it feels like an industry people have the utmost respect for.”