Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators

ANZSCO ID 7117

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
1,200
Future Growth
3.8%
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
78%
Female Share
33%
Average age
48

Summary

Textile and Footwear Production Machine Operators operate machines to process raw hides and skins, raw textile fibres, and dye, weave and knit fibres for use in textile and footwear production.

Tasks

  • preparing machines for operation by selecting and installing attachments and components for specialised functions

  • setting and operating controls used to regulate processing operations

  • starting machines and monitoring operation to detect faults and ensure effectiveness of operation

  • loading drums with hides and skins, textiles, and dyeing and tanning solutions

  • cutting and machining leather and synthetic shoe uppers, and making shoes using moulded and cement construction techniques

  • threading loom shuttles with cross-yarn arms

  • positioning and feeding machines with fibre packages

  • repairing broken yarns by tying and splicing ends

  • examining finished products for defects and variations, reporting faults in machines, and carrying out quality control procedures

Characteristics


Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. The latest data are for the five years from November 2021 to November 2026. Over this period, the number of workers:

  • is expected to grow moderately
  • is likely to reach 3,300 by 2026.
  • Source: Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.

    Notes: The number employed includes people who work in this occupation as their main job. People who work in more than one job are counted against the occupation they work the most hours in.

    Employment projections figures are rounded to the nearest 100. Calculations based on these rounded figures may result in differences to the numbers that are displayed on this page. Employment projections data (including occupations) can be downloaded from the Employment Projections page.

Projected Change
3.8%
(or 100 jobs)
From
3,200
in 2021
To
3,300
in 2026

Number of Workers

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.
Year Employment
2011 1,900
2012 3,100
2013 1,800
2014 1,900
2015 1,700
2016 500
2017 2,100
2018 1,200
2019 700
2020 100
2021 3,200
2026 3,300

Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, ABS seasonally adjusted data to November 2021 and Jobs and Skills Australia Employment Projections to 2026.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 82% of people employed as Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 16 percentage points above the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 43 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Median hourly earnings are $25, this is lower than the all jobs median ($41 per hour).

    Sources: Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average. Full-time median earnings and median hourly earnings: ABS, Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2021. Compared to all jobs median.


Industries

Main industries

1
Manufacturing
78.3%
2
Retail Trade
13.0%
3
Wholesale Trade
8.7%
  • Most Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators work in the Manufacturing industry. They are also employed in industries like:

    Source: ABS Labour Force Survey, annual average 2021.


Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

24.3% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

47.7% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

16.0% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

6.5% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

3.4% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

1.3% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.6% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

0.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators All Jobs Average
NSW 24.3 31.6
VIC 47.7 25.6
QLD 16.0 20.0
SA 6.5 7.0
WA 3.4 10.8
TAS 1.3 2.0
NT 0.6 1.0
ACT 0.2 1.9


  • Around 51% of Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators live outside of capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 38%.

    Victoria has a large share of employment relative to its population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
48
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
33%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Textile and Footwear Production Machine Operators is 48 years. This is higher than the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 45 to 54 years.

    Females make up 33% of the workforce. This is 15 percentage points below the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators All Jobs Average
15-19 1.4 5.0
20-24 5.7 9.3
25-34 13.6 22.9
35-44 18.1 22.0
45-54 30.2 21.6
55-59 15.4 9.0
60-64 10.4 6.0
65 and Over 5.1 4.2
Median Age 48 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Formal qualifications are not usually required to work as a Textile or Footwear Production Machine Operator.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Textiles, Clothing & Footwear VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 0.3 10.1
Bachelor degree 6.1 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 5.4 11.6
Certificate III/IV 19.5 21.1
Year 12 24.2 18.1
Year 11 9.4 4.8
Year 10 and below 35.1 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Textile & Footwear Production Machine Operators who are hardworking, can work well with others and are reliable.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 45%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.

  • 41%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 41%

    Operation and control

    Controlling equipment or systems.

  • 36%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 36%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 36%

    Quality control analysis

    Doing tests and checking products, services, or processes to make sure they are working properly.

  • 36%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 34%

    Equipment maintenance

    Maintaining equipment and deciding what maintenance will be needed in the future.

  • 34%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 34%

    Troubleshooting

    Figuring out why a machine or system went wrong and working out what to do about it.

  • 32%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 32%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 32%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 30%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 29%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 27%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 27%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 25%

    Equipment selection

    Deciding on the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.

  • 23%

    Repairing

    Fixing machines or systems.

  • 23%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 37%

    Production and processing

    Raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and ways of making and distributing goods.

  • 36%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 35%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 33%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 31%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 28%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 24%

    Mechanical

    Machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • 22%

    Economics and accounting

    Economics and accounting, the financial markets, banking and checking and reporting of financial data.

  • 20%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 19%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 19%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 18%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 17%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 13%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 12%

    Engineering and technology

    Use engineering, science and technology to design and produce goods and services.

  • 12%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 9%

    Physics

    The physical laws of matter, motion and energy, and how they interact through space and time.

  • 9%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 8%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 8%

    Technical design

    Design techniques, tools, and principles used to make detailed technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 52%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 52%

    Control precision

    Quickly change the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • 52%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 45%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.

  • 45%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 45%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 45%

    Extent flexibility

    Bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • 45%

    Reaction time

    Quickly move your hand, finger, or foot when a sound, light, picture or something else appears.

  • 43%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 41%

    Multilimb coordination

    Use your arms and/or legs at the same time while sitting, standing, or lying down.

  • 41%

    Trunk strength

    Use your abdominal and lower back muscles a number of times without 'giving out' or fatiguing.

  • 41%

    Auditory attention

    Pay attention to a certain sound when there are other distracting sounds.

  • 41%

    Colour discrimination

    Notice differences between colours, including shades of colour and brightness.

  • 41%

    Perceptual speed

    Use your eyes to quickly compare groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • 41%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 39%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 39%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 38%

    Selective attention

    Pay attention to something without being distracted.

  • 36%

    Hearing sensitivity

    Tell the difference between sounds.

  • 36%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 76%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 69%

    Controlling equipment or machines

    Operating machines or processes either directly or using controls (not including computers or vehicles).

  • 52%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 52%

    Keeping your knowledge up-to-date

    Keeping up-to-date with technology and new ideas.

  • 51%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 50%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 49%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 48%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 42%

    Working with mechanical equipment

    Servicing, repairing, adjusting, and testing machines, devices, moving parts, and equipment.

  • 38%

    Collecting and organising information

    Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or checking information or data.

  • 38%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 36%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 35%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 30%

    Estimating amounts, costs and resources

    Working out sizes, distances, amounts, time, costs, resources, or materials needed for a task.

  • 29%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 28%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 26%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 25%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 24%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 24%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 100%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 71%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 38%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 33%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.

  • 19%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 19%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 67%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 52%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 36%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 29%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 24%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 24%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 96%

    Using your hands to handle, control, or feel

    Spend time using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls.

  • 95%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 95%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 91%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 87%

    Loud or uncomfortable sounds

    Be exposed to noises and sounds that are distracting or uncomfortable.

  • 86%

    Exposure to contaminants

    Be exposed to pollutants, gases, dust or odours.

  • 86%

    Pace of work set by equipment

    Pace of work depends on the speed of equipment or machinery.

  • 83%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

  • 79%

    Bending or twisting your body

    Spend time bending or twisting your body.

  • 73%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

  • 73%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 71%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 65%

    Dangerous equipment

    Work near dangerous equipment like saws, machinery with open moving parts, or moving traffic.

  • 64%

    Repeating same tasks

    Repeat the same tasks or activities (e.g., key entry) over and over, without stopping.

  • 63%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 59%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 59%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 58%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 58%

    Angry or unpleasant people

    Deal with unpleasant, angry, or rude people.

  • 57%

    Cramped work space

    Work in an awkward position or in cramped work spaces.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 51-6063.00 - Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders.


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