Curriculum

Our institution has invested significant time and effort in developing a unique curriculum, something we are immensely proud of. As a student, you will have the opportunity to learn the intricacies of being responsible for a wide range of staff members, as well as properties such as yachts and jets. Your role as an estate or house manager may also involve taking on additional responsibilities such as being a chauffeur, housekeeper, handyman, accountant, or gardener. Regardless of your specific duties, we will equip you with the necessary knowledge and skills to carry them out elegantly and with poise.

In today's world, butlers and house managers must be well-versed in the abilities and expertise of each team member. Our students acquire a comprehensive understanding of the various household tasks to ensure they can effectively manage their staff and facilitate seamless operations. We take immense pride in providing our students with a complete and comprehensive education, and we are confident that our training will equip you to execute each household job with finesse and perfection.

• The Life of a Butler
  includes history and traditions, personal traits, technical skills, personal and professional standards, and service. Click the link above (The Life of a Butler) and review an example of how detailed our approach to one subject is.

• The Modern Butler
  includes Domotica & automation, cutting-edge technology, the TIBA butler's online platform, and more.

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

• House Management
  includes setting routines and schedules, household hierarchy, defining and setting standards, and purchasing.

• Table Management
  includes setting tables and serving meals, serving skills, service styles, table manners, wines and champagnes, cigars, creating menus, and special celebrations.

• Laundry and Wardrobe management
  includes linens and fine fabric care, clothing maintenance, ironing & pressing, dry-cleaning, storing, and product knowledge.

• Valeting Skills
  examines the professional Gentleman's Gentleman and includes dress codes, formal wear, purchasing and care of bespoke clothing and shoes, maintaining inventories, and packing and unpacking suitcases.

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

• Pets & Gardening
  includes responsible animal care, animal welfare, pet behavioral needs, dog and cat grooming, etc. Gardening includes lessons on seeds, the parts of plants, and how plants move and grow. There are also lessons on flower arranging, types of soil, good bugs and bad bugs, worms, bees, decomposition, and more. 

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

• Cooking
  includes balancing food and wine, menu planning and record keeping, hygiene, speed cuisine, quality control, diets and food plans, cooking vegan & vegetarian, and baking bread & pastries. 

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

The International Butler Academy teaches personal service expertise and organizational structure that supports the management of complex homes and lifestyles. We train you in all the aspects of butling and house management.

Every few days, one student is appointed student head butler, and one is appointed assistant student head butler. Both are in charge of the group. As student head butler, a student is responsible for organizing all meals that day, organizing any field trip during that time, looking after guests, and 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 know and understand what it is like to be in charge of a large team, and at the same time, the team will learn to work under a demanding supervisor.

Every single day is a practical learning day. Events at school are real. Delivery people are real. Maintenance people are real. The demanding family is real. The problems you face as a butler in this multi-million-dollar private home are real. Know this; on the evening of your graduation, you will stand on stage with confidence, knowing that you have just completed a training program of unsurpassed quality.

A typical day runs from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., although many days run longer. Various tests must be fulfilled throughout the training program, with the final tests taking place the last week. An enormous amount of training takes place in ten weeks, and you must come mentally prepared. However, these ten weeks are also a lot of fun, and you will undoubtedly return home with many new friends and fond memories.

“It is a commonplace saying that “the world is changing”. Indeed, it is changing very fast. In the past, before telephones and automobiles and computers, when the time was slow and gracious, and life was lived with elegance and style, the butler was the glue that held the world of the wealthy and powerful together. Today, the modern butler is still that glue, but there is a difference. Instead of horses and carriages, there are cars of increasing luxury and speed. Instead of handwritten letters, there is email, Facebook, and Twitter. Instead of squadrons of specialized servants to run a house, there are computer systems to coordinate the light, the heating, and the sound systems. Instead of a home being a retreat from the busy world, media hunger and invasive spying have made privacy, safety, and security increasingly problematic for the wealthy and powerful.

New materials, new designs, and new products have changed the way we care for the fabric of our lives in the twenty-first century. Brick and wood, plaster and stone have given way to concrete, exotic woods, and space-age plastics. Heightened awareness of our fragile planet and the environment have made us question how we look at our lives. The training at The International Butler Academy is actively engaged in the process of preparing butlers for these changing challenges of the modern world. We, the trainers at the Academy, work continuously to find the balance between the fine traditions of the past and the modern revolution of technical innovations. Equally important, the Academy ensures that its graduates have the right attitude to approach all the developing trends so that the modern butler can continue to balance her or his superb service with rapidly changing technologies. It is vital that the modern butler can consider carefully what to change and what to keep to adapt. At The International Butler Academy, technology and change are never held captive by tradition.

The training at The International Butler Academy is innovative in all areas. The teaching processes and topics are adjusted as demand and feedback from clients worldwide show what is necessary to be on the cutting edge of preparations. So, while professional email is a “given”, other media, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, are also important aspects of communication for the modern butler. Worldwide travel, computers, and high-speed internet make the world faster and “smaller”, but often less gracious. Houses are now run by computers instead of fleets of specialized servants. Security and safety are increasing issues for the wealthy and powerful. Media hunger makes privacy problematic. We continue to develop ways of raising both the awareness of these issues and their possible solutions in our curriculum. Graduates and the Academy continue to maintain professional mutual contact. Our staff is available for advice, suggestions, support, and friendship. We welcome suggestions from graduates “in the field” to help us maintain our first-class, cutting-edge curriculum as we prepare future butlers for the modern world.”