10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course
Go from complete beginner to tattooing a live model in ten days. Our most complete course, taught in small groups in central London.
£1,499 from
Secure your place with a £300 deposit.
Apprenticeships
Tattoo apprenticeships in London
If you have been asking studios for an apprenticeship and getting nowhere, you are not doing it wrong. They are rare, rarely advertised, and usually unpaid. Here is how they actually work, and the faster way in.
1-3
Years, typically
10
Day course instead
CPD
Accredited
London
City centre
How they work
What a tattoo apprenticeship actually involves
Most people who want to tattoo start by looking for an apprenticeship, and it is a fair place to start. There is no national qualification you must hold to tattoo in the UK. What the law requires is that the practitioner and the premises are registered with the local council, which is about hygiene rather than skill. Everything else comes down to whether you can actually do the work.
The difficulty is getting one. Studios take on very few apprentices, rarely advertise when they do, and choose from people they already know or whose portfolio has landed on the counter. Searching for an apprenticeship near you usually turns up nothing, not because none exist, but because they were never posted anywhere.
When you do get one, the quality varies enormously. A good apprenticeship is the best training in the trade: two or three years beside a working artist, deep and unhurried. A bad one is eighteen months of cleaning tubes and reception shifts for little or no money, with the tattooing always about to start. You will not know which you have until you are in it, and it depends almost entirely on how much time one busy person is willing to give you.
A structured course is a different proposition. It is short, it is paid for up front rather than in unpaid hours, and what you are taught is fixed in advance rather than left to whoever takes you on. You are assessed at the end, and you leave able to work, with a portfolio and a certificate to show for it.
Side by side
Tattoo course vs apprenticeship
Neither is a con and neither suits everybody. Here is the honest comparison.
A structured course
- Fixed length, so you know when you finish
- A set curriculum, taught in order, not left to chance
- Hygiene and blood-borne pathogen training in full
- Supervised work on artificial skin, then a live model
- Assessed, with a Certificate of Competence and a portfolio
- You pay in money rather than in unpaid hours
A studio apprenticeship
- Very hard to get, and rarely advertised anywhere
- Usually one to three years, often unpaid or low paid
- What you learn depends on who takes you and how much time they give
- No assessment, no certificate and no guaranteed structure
- Shop-floor duties often take up more of it than tattooing
- Excellent when it is good, and years wasted when it is not
The course is the route, not a warm-up for one. You finish able to tattoo safely and competently, with hygiene and blood-borne pathogen training behind you, supervised work on a live model, a portfolio of your own pieces and a Certificate of Competence. That is what a studio wants to see, and it is what a council needs before it registers you.
Plenty of our students go straight into studio work. Others set up on their own, and we cover the practical side of that with you: getting registered, what insurance you need, and how to approach shops. Our support does not stop the day the course ends, so you can come back to us as those questions come up.
You do not need to spend two years sweeping a shop floor first. If you want to learn to tattoo properly and start working, the course is the shortest honest way there.
Inside the studio
See a real teaching studio
An apprenticeship puts you in a working shop. A course puts you at your own station, with a tutor watching your hands and time set aside to teach you.
Courses
Our tattoo courses in London
Three routes in, all including equipment and materials during the course.
4-Day Fine Line Course
Start straight into the fine-line style clients ask for most. Four focused days on delicate single-needle line work, for beginners.
£849 from
Secure your place with a £250 deposit.
2-Day Fine Line Course
For SPMU, microblading and beauty professionals: add fine-line tattooing to your services in a focused two-day intensive.
£699 from
Secure your place with a £250 deposit.
Reviews
What our students say
5.0 · Google Reviews
-
★★★★★
I started the 10-day course never having held a machine and tattooed a live model by the end. The small group meant the tutor actually watched every line I did.
Aoife M.10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course -
★★★★★
The 4-day fine line course was exactly what I wanted. I came out able to hold a clean single-needle line and I've been building a fine-line portfolio since.
Cian D.4-Day Fine Line Course -
★★★★★
I run a microblading studio and the 2-day course let me add fine-line tattoos to my services in a weekend. It assumed I already knew skin and hygiene, which saved so much time.
Niamh R.2-Day Fine Line Course -
★★★★★
Genuinely the most professional training I looked at in London. Real bench time, real feedback, and the hygiene side was taken seriously from day one. Worth every penny.
Seán O'B.10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course -
★★★★★
Travelled in from Brighton for the beginner diploma and it was completely worth the trip. Small class, patient tutors, and I left with a portfolio I could actually show studios.
Méabh K.10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course -
★★★★★
I'd done an online course before and learned almost nothing. This was the opposite. Hands on machines from the first morning, corrected in real time. I finally feel ready to guest.
Jack F.4-Day Fine Line Course -
★★★★★
The hygiene and blood-borne pathogen side was covered properly, which is exactly what studios asked me about at interview. I walked in with a certificate and a portfolio and got the spot.
Orla C.10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course -
★★★★★
The small group meant I never felt lost or rushed. The tutors are working artists so the feedback is honest and current, not something read off a slide. Best decision I've made for my career.
Darragh L.10-Day Beginner Tattoo Course -
★★★★★
As an SPMU artist the 2-day course was perfect. Focused, no filler, and it respected what I already knew. I was offering fine-line tattoos to my clients the following week.
Saoirse B.2-Day Fine Line Course
Questions
Apprenticeships and courses: common questions
Do I need an apprenticeship to become a tattoo artist in the UK?
No. There is no national qualification or apprenticeship you are legally required to complete. What you do need is to be registered with your local council, along with the premises you work in, which covers hygiene and safe practice. Beyond that, studios and clients judge you on your work.
Are tattoo apprenticeships paid?
Often not, or very little. Many are unpaid for the first stretch, and some involve shop duties in exchange for teaching rather than a wage. Anyone offering an apprenticeship should be clear with you about pay, hours and what you will actually be taught before you commit a year or more to it.
How do I find a tattoo apprenticeship near me?
Honestly, they are rarely advertised. Studios usually take on someone they already know, or someone who walked in with a portfolio worth looking at. That is the difficulty: you need work to show before anyone will consider teaching you, which is the position most people are stuck in.
Is a tattoo course better than an apprenticeship?
It is faster, structured and assessed, and you know exactly what you are getting before you start. A good apprenticeship goes deeper over a much longer period, but it is hard to get and you cannot tell in advance whether the one you are offered is a good one. Our course takes ten days across two weeks and finishes with a supervised tattoo on a live model.
What do I leave your course with?
A CPD accredited Certificate of Competence, a certificate in hygiene and blood-borne pathogen awareness, a portfolio of your own supervised work, and the practical guidance you need to get registered and start working. Our student support continues after the course ends.
How much does a tattoo course cost?
The 10-day beginner tattoo course is £1,499. The shorter fine line courses are less. Equipment and materials are included for the duration of the course, and a deposit holds your place with the balance due 7 days before you start.
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