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Shoe Machine Operators and Tenders

Operate or tend a variety of machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.

What you’d do

  • Inspect finished products to ensure that shoes have been completed according to specifications.
  • Align parts to be stitched, following seams, edges, or markings, before positioning them under needles.
  • Operate or tend machines to join, decorate, reinforce, or finish shoes and shoe parts.
  • Remove and examine shoes, shoe parts, and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels.
  • Switch on machines, lower pressure feet or rollers to secure parts, and start machine stitching, using hand, foot, or knee controls.
  • Draw thread through machine guide slots, needles, and presser feet in preparation for stitching, or load rolls of wire through machine axles.
  • Study work orders or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications, and the types of materials to be used.
  • Perform routine equipment maintenance such as cleaning and lubricating machines or replacing broken needles.

Skills that matter

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Critical Thinking
  • Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Operations Monitoring

How to get there

Little to some preparation: usually a high school diploma or GED, though some jobs do not need one

Also called

  • Boot Maker
  • Inseamer
  • Side Laster
  • Stitcher
  • Cobbler
  • Insole Department Worker

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