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Mortuary table

Mortuary Technician

Looking after the bodies of people who have died with compassion and respect

How this role makes a difference

Understanding that death is a part of life is a difficult but important lesson that everyone needs to learn. When you realise this you also understand that looking after the bodies of people who’ve died is skilled and essential work which requires compassion and respect.

It involves preparing, dressing and placing deceased people into coffins, and making sure they are presented with dignity and in line with their religious and cultural beliefs. You could be the technician who completes these preparations and reassures family members their loved one is being cared for.

The kind of work you’ll do

  • Monitoring the safety and hygiene of equipment
  • Managing the receipt and release of people
  • Checking people’s identities
  • Initial assessment and monitoring of deceased people
  • Initial care and cleaning of deceased people
  • Maintaining registers and documents for the deceased
  • Communication with people connected to the deceased
Useful skills
Attention to detail
Skills & attributes
Useful skills
Precise
Skills & attributes

What you can bring to the role

A natural instinct to help and support other people.

The confidence to communicate with a diverse range of people using different methods.

The ability to focus, make sound judgements and accurate decisions.

A mature approach to following procedures with good attention to detail.

The energy and willingness to take on physical tasks.

You could also be right for this role if you have any of the following interests:

- caring for people

- science

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*according to ONS

Future career opportunities

This is a specialised role that can offer you a long-term career. Over time you may move into training other people or running a team.

You could also develop your skills to be more closely involved in the analysis of deceased people, as well as their preparation.

How to get into this role

There’s no perfect career path or ideal way into your dream job.

But if you’re interested in education and training options that could be relevant to this role, you might want to consider:  

Schools and colleges each have their own career guidance plan and can provide detailed information, advice, and guidance on options and next steps.

A little more about the role

Exciting features...

You’ll be involved with all kinds of people, including relatives, funeral directors, embalmers, crematoria, cemeteries, funeral arrangers, doctors, police, coroners and hospital and home care staff. Your professionalism, integrity and sensitivity will be required at all times.

Other job titles...

This role can also be known by some other job titles including:

Anatomical Pathology Technologist
Embalming Assistant
Mortuary Assistant

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technicians who
do this role

Mortuary Technician

Katie Tomkins
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