Painter’s Assistant / Painting Apprentice
Heddy Paint & Paper — Genesee County, Michigan
Pay: $20–$22 per hour to start, depending on relevant experience and demonstrated ability. Clear opportunity for advancement as skills, responsibility, efficiency, and independence develop.
Job Type: Full-time
Schedule: Monday through Friday, generally eight-hour daytime shifts. Occasional weekend availability may be requested. No regular night work.
Work Location: Residential and specialty project locations throughout Genesee County and surrounding areas.
About the Position
Heddy Paint & Paper is a small, established painting company specializing in high-quality residential interiors, exteriors, wallcovering, restoration, and detailed finish work.
The owner is a fourth-generation professional painter with more than 40 years of experience. We are seeking a dependable Painter’s Assistant / Painting Apprentice who takes pride in working carefully, enjoys learning, and wants to become an increasingly skilled and valuable member of a small professional team.
Previous painting or construction experience is helpful, but attitude, reliability, teachability, and character are equally important. The right person will receive hands-on training in professional preparation and painting practices.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys physical work, visible accomplishments, craftsmanship, and learning a skilled trade.
What We Value
- Arrive reliably and be ready to work at the scheduled time.
- Bring a positive, steady, and professional attitude to the workday.
- Receive instruction and corrective feedback without becoming defensive or argumentative.
- Take responsibility for mistakes, help correct them, and learn from them.
- Communicate questions, concerns, and disagreements directly and respectfully.
- Adjust to changing job conditions without creating unnecessary tension or disruption.
- Work cooperatively with others while also remaining productive when working independently.
- Stay on task and complete assignments without continual supervision.
- Think ahead by noticing what needs to be done next.
- Care about detail, neatness, organization, efficiency, and safety.
- Respect customers, coworkers, homes, belongings, tools, and company procedures.
- Maintain appropriate boundaries and a professional demeanor in customers’ homes.
- Demonstrate honesty, good judgment, and respect for confidential customer information.
- Find satisfaction in hard work and in seeing a project completed well.
We value someone who can be both confident and teachable. Previous experience is welcome, but every employee must be willing to learn and consistently follow Heddy Paint & Paper’s methods and quality standards.
Primary Responsibilities
- Moving and protecting furniture and customers’ belongings.
- Organizing work areas, materials, tools, and equipment.
- Installing and removing drop cloths and protective coverings.
- Masking, taping, and covering surfaces with plastic or paper.
- Scraping, sanding, dusting, wire brushing, and vacuuming.
- Caulking, puttying, patching, and other surface preparation.
- Cleaning, setting up, and putting away tools.
- Moving and safely setting ladders and scaffold components.
- Cleaning work areas throughout the day and at project completion.
- Priming and painting appropriate surfaces as skills develop.
- Loading, unloading, and preparing materials for the workday.
- Following written and verbal instructions.
- Completing basic job-related paperwork or time records.
- Helping the team complete work within the planned labor hours while maintaining quality.
Responsibilities and pay can increase as the employee demonstrates greater painting skill, judgment, pace, customer communication, independence, and responsibility.
Qualifications
- Have dependable transportation and the ability to travel between job locations.
- Be capable of safely performing the essential physical duties of the position, with reasonable accommodation where applicable.
- Be able to kneel, bend, climb, reach, lift, carry, and work on their feet for much of the day.
- Be comfortable safely using step ladders and extension ladders.
- Be willing to work in dusty conditions while using appropriate protective equipment.
- Possess basic mechanical ability and be comfortable learning to use professional tools.
- Be able to follow safety requirements and company procedures.
- Communicate clearly and respectfully.
- Be willing to complete a background check consistent with applicable law.
Appearance and Work Clothing
Employees work closely with homeowners and other customers. Clean, presentable work clothing and good personal hygiene are required.
- Clean, white painter’s pants.
- A clean company-approved shirt without inappropriate writing or images.
- Closed-toe work shoes or boots suitable for climbing ladders and working safely.
Training and Advancement
Painting ability will be assessed during the hiring process and throughout employment. Training will be provided in the systems and quality standards used by Heddy Paint & Paper.
Advancement is based on demonstrated performance rather than time alone. Wage growth is connected to:
- Reliable attendance and punctuality.
- Positive and professional conduct.
- Ability to receive and implement feedback.
- Quality and completeness of work.
- Improving efficiency and productive pace.
- Care of tools, equipment, and customers’ property.
- Ability to anticipate what needs to happen next.
- Reduced need for reminders and supervision.
- Customer trust and professional communication.
- Increasing painting skill and job responsibility.
A dependable assistant can develop into a working painter, advanced painter, or job lead as skills and responsibilities grow.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $20.00 - $22.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- What interested you about this position, and what would you most like to learn or develop if you joined Heddy Paint & Paper?
Tell us briefly about a time you were taught a new or better way of doing something at work. How did you respond?
We work closely together as a small team. What does good communication and being a good teammate look like to you?
Experience:
- Residential painting: 1 year (Preferred)
Location:
- Genesee County, MI (Preferred)
Work Location: On the road
