We believe The International Butler Academy to be the finest private butling and household management school in the world.  We have painstakingly put together an excellent curriculum of which we are very proud.  We cannot provide too detailed information on this web site about our curriculum but we can show you a glimpse of what you may expect.  Please see below.

The curriculum

The International Butler Academy teaches a personal service expertise and organizational structure that supports the management of complex homes and lifestyles.  The core areas of study, and some examples of the kinds of subjects covered in each include:

• The Life of a Butler
  history and traditions, personal traits, personal and professional standards, service in detail.  Click the Link above (The Life of a Butler) and review an example of how detailed we approach one single subject.

• Staff Management
  interviewing, hiring and firing, agency staff, employee handbooks and house rules, human resources and personnel issues, staff communications, time management.

• House Management
  includes technical skills, setting routines and schedules, defining and setting standards, purchasing.

• Table Management
  setting tables and serving meals, styles of service, table manners, wines and champagnes, cigars, special celebrations.

• Laundry Management
  including linens and fine fabric care, clothing maintenance, ironing & pressing, dry-cleaning, product knowledge.

• Valeting Skills
  dress codes, formal wear, purchasing and care of bespoke clothing and shoes, maintaining inventories and packing suitcases.

• Communication
  cultural differences, interpersonal skills, body language, remembering names and making conversation, telephone manners, personal presentation skills.

• Etiquette & Protocol
  addressing persons of different cultures and titled persons, acquiring social confidence, social correspondence, common-sense good manners and consideration for others.

• Cooking
  balancing food and wine, menu planning and record keeping, speed-cuisine, quality control.

• Miscellaneous
  from traveling with your employer to relocating the household, chauffeuring techniques, security, character building and more, much more.

We train you in all the aspects of butling and house management

Our comprehensive eight-week, government licensed course will introduce and test each student to all the expected duties of a butler / personal assistant / valet and house manager.  Although a large part of your responsibility as a butler could be serving meals, setting tables etc. and you will receive ample training in these areas, the overall training mainly focuses on how to professionally run and manage a large, multi-million dollar estate.

You will be responsible for the rest of the staff, the yacht, the jet and other properties.  You will be the estate (house) manager, sometimes the chauffeur and at times even the housekeeper, handyman, accountant, gardener etc.  Whatever your role, we will train you how to do it with much style and grace.
 

Additional practical training

Each few days one student is appointed head butler and one student is appointed assistant butler.  Both are in charge of the group.  As head butler a student is responsible for organizing all meals that day, organizing the field trip (if any), looking after any guests, and for managing the rest of the staff so that everyone knows what he or she needs to do.  Role-playing is an important instrument we use in our training methods.  It allows students an opportunity to "feel" what it is like to be in charge of a large staff and at the same time the staff will learn to "cope" with a demanding supervisor.

A typical course day runs from 9 AM until 9 PM.  Students are normally free on Sundays.  However, please note that students on several previous courses had only six or seven days off over a period of eight weeks.  The instructors will coach you throughout the course.  On a daily and on a weekly basis you will receive feedback on your progress to become a superb butler.  Various tests need to be fulfilled throughout the course with the final tests the last week.

A lot of training takes place in eight weeks, so you have to come mentally prepared. The course is intensive and will be strenuous, perhaps even exhausting.  However, these eight weeks are also a lot of fun and you will undoubtedly return home with many fond memories.

Diploma

At the Graduation Ceremony we present a student with the official International Butler Academy diploma, demonstrating the student's successful completion of the course and its associated training.  This diploma will constitute a valuable demonstration of a successful accomplishment of course training with The International Butler Academy and will represent a valuable passport into the private service profession.