Summary Report for:
51-6041.00 - Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers
Construct, decorate, or repair leather and leather-like products, such as luggage, shoes, and saddles.
Sample of reported job titles:
Boot Maker, Cutter, Shoe Maker, Shoe Repairer, Leather Production Worker, Leather Worker, Shoe Cutter, Lacer, Saddle and Harness Maker, Shoe Repairman
Tasks | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment
Tasks
- Cut out parts following patterns or outlines, using knives, shears, scissors, or machine presses.
- Construct, decorate, or repair leather products according to specifications, using sewing machines, needles and thread, leather lacing, glue, clamps, hand tools, and/or rivets.
- Align and stitch or glue materials such as fabric, fleece, leather, or wood, in order to join parts.
- Dye, soak, polish, paint, stamp, stitch, stain, buff, or engrave leather or other materials to obtain desired effects, decorations, or shapes.
- Select materials and patterns, and trace patterns onto materials to be cut out.
- Dress and otherwise finish boots or shoes, as by trimming the edges of new soles and heels to the shoe shape.
- Estimate the costs of requested products or services such as custom footwear or footwear repair, and receive payment from customers.
- Attach insoles to shoe lasts, affix shoe uppers, and apply heels and outsoles.
- Cement, nail, or sew soles and heels to shoes.
- Shape shoe heels with a knife, and sand them on a buffing wheel for smoothness.
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Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
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Skills
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others. |
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Abilities
| Finger Dexterity — The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects. |
| Manual Dexterity — The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects. |
| Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness — The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position. |
| Control Precision — The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions. |
| Multilimb Coordination — The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion. |
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Work Activities
| Handling and Moving Objects — Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things. |
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Work Context
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls — How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Importance of Being Exact or Accurate — How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job? |
| Freedom to Make Decisions — How much decision making freedom, without supervision, does the job offer? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Time Pressure — How often does this job require the worker to meet strict deadlines? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed |
| Overall Experience |
Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience may be helpful in these occupations, but usually is not needed. For example, a teller might benefit from experience working directly with the public, but an inexperienced person could still learn to be a teller with little difficulty. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. |
| Job Zone Examples |
These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include sheet metal workers, forest fire fighters, customer service representatives, pharmacy technicians, salespersons (retail), and tellers. |
| SVP Range |
(4.0 to < 6.0) |
| Education |
These occupations usually require a high school diploma and may require some vocational training or job-related course work. In some cases, an associate's or bachelor's degree could be needed. |
There are 7 recognized apprenticeable specialties associated with this occupation:
Harness Maker; Saddle Maker; Shoe Repairer; Shoemaker, Custom; Bootmaker, Hand; Orthopedic-Boot-and-Shoe Designer and Maker; Leather Stamper
To learn about specific apprenticeship opportunities, please consult the U.S. Department of Labor State Apprenticeship Information
website.
For general information about apprenticeships, training, and partnerships with
business, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship
website.
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Interests
Interest code: RCA
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
| Conventional — Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow. |
| Artistic — Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules. |
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Work Styles
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
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Work Values
| Support — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical. |
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Independence — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2007) |
$10.37 hourly, $21,570 annual |
| Employment (2006) |
16,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2006-2016) |
Decline rapidly (-10% or lower)
|
| Projected need (2006-2016) |
3,000 additional employees |
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2007 wage data
and 2006-2016 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2006-2016). "Projected need" represents job openings due to growth and net replacement.
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