About This Career

Constructs, decorates, or repairs leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles. May use hand tools.

This career is part of the Manufacturing cluster Maintenance, Installation and Repair pathway, Production pathway.

A person in this career:

• Dyes, soaks, polishes, paints, stamps, stitches, stains, buffs, or engraves leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
• Cuts out parts, following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
• Constructs, decorates, or repairs leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, or rivets.
• Repairs and reconditions leather products such as trunks, luggage, shoes, saddles, belts, purses, and baseball gloves.
• Aligns and stitches or glues materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, to join parts.
• Inspects articles for defects, and removes damaged or worn parts, using hand tools.
• Drills or punches holes and inserts or attaches metal rings, handles, and fastening hardware, such as buckles.
• Prepares inserts, heel pads, and lifts from casts of customers' feet.
• Dresses and otherwise finishes boots or shoes, as by trimming the edges of new soles and heels to the shoe shape.
• Attaches insoles to shoe lasts, affixes shoe uppers, and applies heels and outsoles.

Working Conditions and Physical Demands

People who do this job report that:

• You would often handle loads up to 10 lbs., sometimes up to 20 lbs. You might do a lot of walking or standing, or you might sit but use your arms and legs to control machines, equipment or tools.
• Exposure to pollutants, gases, dust, fumes, odors, poor ventilation, etc.
• Work in this occupation involves using your hands to hold, control, and feel objects more than one-third of the time
• Exposed to hazardous equipment such as saws, machinery, or vehicular traffic more than once a month
• Work in this occupation requires being inside most of the time
• Sound and noise levels are loud and distracting
• Work in this occupation involves making repetitive motions more than one-third of the time
• Work in this occupation involves standing more than one-third of the time

Working in this career involves (physical activities):

• Seeing clearly up close
• Speaking clearly enough to be able to be understood by others
• Identifying and understanding the speech of another person

Work Hours and Travel

• Regular working hours and limited travel