How to Become a Bartender

Louise Petty

March 21, 2025

7 min read

If you want a highly-social career in a fast-paced environment, then bartending might be the role for you. Bartenders are skilled hospitality workers who prepare and serve drinks in a wide range of locations. In this article, we’ll outline everything you need to know about how to become a bartender, looking at what a bartender does, key bartending responsibilities and skills and how to secure a job in this industry.

What Does a Bartender Do?

Bartenders are skilled hospitality professionals who prepare and serve drinks to customers. They are skilled at preparing all types of beverages, including alcoholic cocktails, wines and beers, as well as non-alcoholic options, coffees, teas and soft drinks.

Bartenders work in a variety of licensed premises, including hotels, bars, pubs, restaurants and clubs. You could even work on a cruise ship, abroad at a tourist holiday destination or specialise in mobile events, like weddings and parties.

A successful bartender has expert knowledge of drink recipes and techniques and is able to provide customers with a high-quality experience, offering them excellent customer service and serving drinks that both taste great and are visually appealing.

Bartending is a very social career as you’ll be talking to a large number of people during every shift in a fast-moving work environment where adaptability and resilience are key. Bartenders typically work unsociable hours, like evenings and weekends, but this is made up for by the social interactions you get to have with your customers.

You may also see the role of bartender under a different job title when applying for this role, such as bar server, barback, barman, bar manager or cocktail waiter.

Responsibilities of a Bartender

Bartenders don’t just pour drinks; they have a variety of responsibilities to ensure their role is performed efficiently and successfully. The main responsibilities of a bartender include:

Mixing and serving both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Garnishing drinks with care and precision to ensure they look their best.
Greeting customers and creating a welcoming atmosphere.
Taking customer orders with accuracy.
Recommending cocktails, wines and other drinks.
Providing excellent customer service.
Dealing with customer complaints, questions or concerns.
Complying with the law on selling alcohol, asking customers for ID and refusing sales if necessary.
Handling cash transactions and operating a till.
Preparing and serving bar snacks.
Cleaning the bar area and cellar if required.
Re-stocking the bar area.
Preventing bar wastage and managing resources efficiently.
Collecting empty glasses.
Recycling empty bottles and cans.
Washing up where necessary.
Adhering to food safety and hygiene standards.

What Qualifications Do you Need to Be a Bartender?

The most common entry route into becoming a bartender is to undertake some sort of hospitality training. This could be a college course, apprenticeship or other certification that proves you have the right skills to be a bartender, understand the industry and are ready to pursue a career in this area. Anyone can obtain a suitable qualification to become a bartender.

Bartender College Courses

A college course in bartending or hospitality enables you to learn everything you need to know to become a bartender, including essential mixology techniques and skills, health and safety procedures and knowledge of the hospitality industry.

Examples of relevant courses are the City & Guilds Level 1 Award in Professional Food and Beverage Service Skills, Level 2 Certificate in Professional Food and Beverage Service or an Award in Professional Bartending.

Bartender Apprenticeships

Bartender apprenticeships provide hands-on experience of bartending and mixology, as you’ll be working with a qualified bartender to learn practical techniques alongside your theoretical lessons in the classroom. A bartending apprenticeship is a great way to enter the industry as you may get a junior role in the company you worked with once your apprenticeship is complete.

An apprenticeship takes 2-4 years to complete and you’ll need at least two GCSEs, including English and maths, to get started.

Bartender Certifications

A bartender certification is a professional qualification that’s recognised in the hospitality industry across the UK. Doing a bartender certification enables you to build on your existing knowledge and prove your interest and ability to potential employers. It’s not mandatory to undertake a separate bartender certification on top of your college course or apprenticeship, but it will help you to stand out from the crowd when applying for a bartending role.

Examples of bartender certifications include the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) Level 1 Award in Spirits or Level 2 Award in Wines, the British Institute of Innkeeping Awarding Body (BIIAB) Level 2 Award for Personal Licence Holders or a Mixology Certification.

To further display your competence and expertise, you can also look to achieve an additional certificate in one of the following disciplines. These extra certificates will all help to boost your CV and assist you in getting a bartending role:

Bartender Skills

Bartending requires a wide range of practical skills and abilities – known as hard skills – which you’ll learn through a bartending course or qualification. For example, the principles of mixology and cocktail preparation, garnishing techniques, serving skills, health and safety knowledge and an understanding of the local drinking culture.

To be the most successful bartender, however, you’ll also need to possess a range of soft skills. These bartender skills are integral to the role and will help you to perform it effectively. Bartender soft skills include:

Excellent customer service.
Interpersonal skills.
Strong communication skills.
Active listening.
Time management.
Physical stamina.
Attention to detail.
Ability to work under pressure.
Good memory.
Sales skills and confidence to upsell.
An understanding of alcohol licensing law.
Basic computer, device and till knowledge.

How to Get a Bartending Job

To get a bartending job, first ensure you have a passion for the role and have all of the necessary skills and abilities discussed in this article to perform the role well. Then, translate your skills and knowledge onto your CV and prepare to apply for roles in your area.

Our guides on How to Write a CV, How to Stand Out in a Virtual Interview and Example Interview Questions for Bar Staff will all help you prepare for the job application and interview process.

You may also wish to look at our guide on Other Roles in Hospitality if you’re unsure whether bartending is the right role for you.

You can find a job as a bartender by searching online, by using the National Careers Service to find a bartending apprenticeship or training course near you, or via the Government’s Find a Job service to look for available bartending roles in your area. You can also apply to venues directly if there are certain companies you know you’d like to work for.

Once you’ve secured a role and have developed some years of experience of being a bartender, you’ll then be able to progress your career and become a bar manager or supervisor. You could also undertake further training to specialise in a particular area, such as craft beer, specialist cocktails, mixology or being a ‘flair’ bartender.

Bartending is a skilled hospitality profession that involves preparing and serving a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks while providing excellent customer service in fast-paced environments like bars, restaurants and hotels. To become a bartender, you’ll need to gain essential knowledge of beverage preparation, mixology and customer service through a hospitality course, apprenticeship or bartending certification.