What the butler earns

Anthony Hopkins plays the archetypal butler

They were once regarded as an employer's most loyal servant, but today's butlers are increasingly playing the role of busy "executives" who travel widely and command six-figure salaries.

Schools who train these modern-day Jeeves are reporting a rise in demand for British-trained butlers, many of whom are lured to countries such as America and Hong Kong with the prospect of attractive lifestyles and pay packets.

They are not servants any more but more like administrators

Ivor Spencer

Ivor Spencer, who has trained people in the art of British buttling for more than 20 years, says the growth in demand has come from the rise in "nouveau-riche" business people who want a personal assistant as well versed in etiquette as in handling e-mails.

"They are not servants any more but more like administrators," Mr Spencer said.

"They run beautiful homes around the world and often have budgets bigger than many small businesses."

Computer literate

New-style butlers are still expected to possess the finer skills of house-keeping, such as menu planning and greeting guests, but they must also be computer literate and able to charter a jet.

For these skills, says Mr Spencer, butlers can be richly rewarded.

"The butlers we train start on £25,000 and we have people in America who are earning £55,000 a year, which can be doubled when you think that they don't pay for anything," he said.

Today's butlers may enjoy a jet-set lifestyle alongside their employers

All students are taught to give their employers a Christmas present, but according to Mr Spencer, a number have received lavish gifts in return as a token of thanks.

Among the most generous have been a business-class return air ticket from New York to the UK, a Christmas hamper from Harrods worth £500, a 10-day holiday in Egypt, and a gold watch worth £1,250.

But Mr Spencer, who set-up the south London-based Ivor Spencer International School for Butler Administrators in 1981, says the essential qualities for British butlers are still "discreetness, honesty and loyalty".

The type of people enrolling in a training course range from young catering professionals looking for a chance to travel with their jet-setting employers, to retired business people who can bring an entirely different range of skills to the job.

"Our students come from all walks of life. Some are highly educated and some have no academic qualifications at all," says Mr Spencer.

Shopping for Gucci

The Guild of Professional English Butlers in London is another privately-run school that has seen a rush of applicants through its doors since setting up two years ago.

The school's standard four-week training module covers everything from how to pack a suitcase and where to shop for Gucci shoes, to much wider business and managerial skills.

British-trained butlers, says the school's executive administrator Lara King, still carry a certain amount of kudos, which means that many trainees come from the Continent and further afield to train in the UK.

But there is one area where the profession remains staunchly traditional, as female butlers still appear to be somewhat thin on the ground.

Mr Spencer claims to have trained just eight during his more than two decades in the profession.