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Industrial sewing machine operators (NOC 9446)

Table of contents
About this job Earnings and Outlook Duties Work environment
Workforce and employment statistics Job requirements Related careers Career paths and resources
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About this job

Industrial sewing machine operators:

  • operate sewing machines to sew fabric, fur, leather or synthetic materials to produce or repair garments and other articles.
  • work for clothing, footwear, textile products, fur products establishments and other manufacturing establishments and by furriers.
Common job titles
  • blindstitch-sewing hemmer
  • buttonhole maker
  • carpet binder / sewer / mender
  • mender, cloth / fabric / garment / textile
  • pocket setter
  • serger / overseamer
  • blindstitch-sewing hemmer
  • buttonhole maker
  • carpet binder / sewer / mender
  • fabric mender / repairer
  • fancy stitch machine
  • footwear manufacturing

Earnings

Annual provincial median salary

$27,113

Source: 2017 Job Bank Wage data

Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2017 Job Bank median hourly wage rate (median annual salary = hourly wage rate x 40 (hours per week) x 52.14 (weeks per year))

Provincial hourly rate

  • High
  • Median
  • Low

Source: 2017 Job Bank Wage Report

B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2018-2028)

Provincial outlook

Forecasted average employment growth rate

  • 2018 - 2023
  • 2023 - 2028

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Job openings

10 year expected job openings: 630

  • 2018
  • 2023
  • 2028

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Composition of job openings

 
New jobs due to economic growth:
0.0%
0 openings
 
Replacement of retiring workers:
100.0%
640 openings

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Regional outlook

Select a region to view regional outlook
Vancouver Island / Coast Mainland / Southwest Thompson-Okanagan Kootenay Cariboo Northeast North Coast & Nechako
Cariboo
Employment in 2018:
N/A
Average annual employment growth:
N/A
Expected number of job openings:
N/A
Kootenay
Employment in 2018:
N/A
Average annual employment growth:
N/A
Expected number of job openings:
N/A
Mainland / Southwest
Employment in 2018:
1,710
Average annual employment growth:
-0.1%
Expected number of job openings:
560
North Coast & Nechako
Employment in 2018:
N/A
Average annual employment growth:
N/A
Expected number of job openings:
N/A
Northeast
Employment in 2018:
N/A
Average annual employment growth:
N/A
Expected number of job openings:
N/A
Thompson-Okanagan
Employment in 2018:
30
Average annual employment growth:
0.4%
Expected number of job openings:
20
Vancouver Island / Coast
Employment in 2018:
140
Average annual employment growth:
0.4%
Expected number of job openings:
50

N/A - Data not available

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Duties

Industrial sewing machine operators:

  • put together pieces of garments by matching patterns and dye lots
  • run single, double or multi-needle serging, flat bed felling, banding and other sewing machines, to join sections of garments or other articles into finished products on a piece-work or production basis
  • operate fur sewing machines to join fur pelt strips to required size and shape and join pelts into garment sections or shells
  • run stitching machines to sew leather parts together for leather garments, handbags, shoes and other leather articles
  • operate serging machines to sew and overcast edges of material simultaneously
  • run tackers, pocketsetters, buttonhole makers and fusing, hemmer and other machines to perform various operations in the fabrication of garments and other articles
  • examine garments and operate sewing machines, sergers and other machines to repair garments and other articles during the manufacturing process
  • complete production reports
  • may do minor maintenance and repairs on sewing machine

Work environment

Key aspects of the work in this occupation:

  • Work takes place in a regular controlled indoor environment.
  • Working with equipment, instruments, machinery or power/hand tools can be a source of injury.
  • The workplace may contain airborne particles such as textile dust.

Workforce and employment statistics

Workforce characteristics

1,600 workers are employed
48% of workers are working mostly full time

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by gender

  Men
  Women

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by age group

  15 - 24 years
  25 - 44 years
  45 - 64 years
  65+ years

Source: 2016 Census

Labour force by industry

Manufacturing:
80%
Retail Trade:
8%
Wholesale Trade:
3%
Repair, Personal and Non-Profit Services:
3%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services:
2%
View more industry data

Source: 2016 Census

Employment by region

Select your region:
Vancouver Island / Coast Mainland / Southwest Thompson-Okanagan Kootenay Cariboo Northeast North Coast & Nechako
  % employment of this occupation
  % employment of all occupations
Cariboo
Kootenay
Mainland / Southwest
North Coast & Nechako
Northeast
Thompson-Okanagan
Vancouver Island / Coast

N/A - Data not available

Source: 2016 Census

Career paths and resources

Career paths

Sewing machine operators may progress to supervisory positions with experience.

Additional resources

Additional resources are not currently available for this career.

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Profile last updated:
July 5, 2018
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