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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 Work-related skills 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

$33,370

Source: 2020 Job Bank Wage data

Note:Estimated median employment income based on 2020 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: 2020 Job Bank Wage Report

B.C. Labour Market Outlook (2021-2031)

Provincial outlook

Forecasted average employment growth rate

  • 2021 - 2026
  • 2026 - 2031

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Job openings

10 year expected job openings: 590

  • 2022
  • 2026
  • 2031

Source: B.C. Labour Market Outlook

Composition of job openings

 
New jobs due to economic growth:
3.3%
20 openings
 
Replacement of retiring workers:
96.7%
580 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 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Kootenay
Employment in 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Mainland / Southwest
Employment in 2021:
1,610
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
0.2%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
540
North Coast & Nechako
Employment in 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Northeast
Employment in 2021:
N/A
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
N/A
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
N/A
Thompson-Okanagan
Employment in 2021:
60
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
0.6%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
30
Vancouver Island / Coast
Employment in 2021:
120
Average annual employment growth(%) 2021-2031:
-1.0%
Expected number of job openings 2021-2031:
20

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.

Profile last updated:
March 25, 2021
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