jobfacts

Footwear and leather working trades

SOC 2020 5412

Footwear and leather working trades make and repair shoes, cut out, make up, sew, decorate and finish leather and leather substitute goods other than garments.

Also calledLeather craftworkerLeather workerSaddlerSlipper makerCutterMoulderand 352 more titles
Typical full-time pay£25,4002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month168↓ 5.1%on last year · 359th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time footwear and leather working trades earn, 2025
£25,400 typicaln/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less thanNot published
25%Not published
Median£25,400
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £25,400
East of England!£28,400
Yorkshire and The Humber!£25,300
East Midlands!£22,000
North EastNot published by ONS–
North WestNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
South WestNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £25,400
East of England£28,400 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£25,300 (small sample)
East Midlands£22,000 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
North WestNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
South WestNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £24,900
  • 2024 £27,600
  • 2025 Provisional£25,400
↑ 1.7% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 168 jobs for footwear and leather working trades are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as not high.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (3 in all)
Show as table
Aug 2026159
Jul 2026Not published
Jun 2026Not published
May 2026201
Apr 2026181
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 2026172
Jan 2026160
Dec 202581
Nov 2025187
Oct 2025207
Sept 2025166
Aug 2025196
Jul 2025168
Jun 2025222
May 2025193
Apr 2025196
Mar 2025217
Feb 2025192
Jan 2025200
Dec 2024106
Nov 2024129
Oct 2024176
Sept 2024208
Aug 2024201
Jul 2024198
Jun 2024184
May 2024211
Apr 2024260
Mar 2024239
Feb 2024251
Jan 2024276
Dec 2023208
Nov 2023243
Oct 2023223
Sept 2023252
Aug 2023303
Jul 2023302
Jun 2023369
May 2023319
Apr 2023272
Mar 2023261
Feb 2023289
Jan 2023319
Dec 2022269
Nov 2022374
Oct 2022375
Sept 2022318
Aug 2022365
Jul 2022397
Jun 2022393
May 2022381
Apr 2022340
Mar 2022379
Feb 2022322
Jan 2022366
Dec 2021291
Nov 2021307
Oct 2021313
Sept 2021317
Aug 2021291
Jul 2021293
Jun 2021312
May 2021226
Apr 2021201
Mar 2021257
Feb 2021155
Jan 2021166
Dec 2020149
Nov 2020195
Oct 2020252
Sept 2020372
Aug 2020196
Jul 2020175
Jun 2020121
May 2020122
Apr 2020119
Mar 2020233
Feb 2020264
Jan 2020226
Dec 2019186
Nov 2019244
Oct 2019307
Sept 2019367
Aug 2019262
Jul 2019279
Jun 2019278
May 2019252
Apr 2019188
Mar 2019259
Feb 2019286
Jan 2019328
Dec 2018214
Nov 2018371
Oct 2018291
Sept 2018282
Aug 2018224
Jul 2018221
Jun 2018238
May 2018313
Apr 2018336
Mar 2018529
Feb 2018296
Jan 2018262
Dec 2017173
Nov 2017295
Oct 2017328
Sept 2017372
Aug 2017326
Jul 2017289
Jun 2017307
May 2017267
Apr 2017269
Mar 2017311
Feb 2017251
Jan 2017279
Is there a shortage of footwear and leather working trades?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedUsual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
50%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, which includes footwear and leather working trades. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London92
Manchester13
West Northamptonshire13
Bristol, City of12
City of Edinburgh10
Belfast9
Aberdeen City7
Birmingham7
Leeds7
Buckinghamshire6
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where footwear and leather working trades are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. Fewer than 10 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
WomenToo few in the survey to give a reliable figure
Age of footwear and leather working trades
n/p
54%!
n/p
n/p
n/p
n/p
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3454% (small sample)
35–44Not published
45–54Not published
55–64Not published
65+Not published
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!108%
GCSEs or equivalent!46%
Other qualifications–
Not published
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalentNot published
A levels or equivalent108% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent46% (small sample)
Other qualificationsNot published

Main employers: manufacture of luggage, handbags and the like, saddlery and harness (97%).

How to get in

Most common qualification
A levels or equivalent
held by 108%
Apprenticeships
3
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
15 months to 2 years
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a craft design course to learn some of the skills you'll need in this career. Examples include:

  • fashion design
  • fashion and textiles

Check with providers to make sure they offer training in leather as part of their courses. Some providers may also do short courses in leathercrafts.

You could specialise by doing a course in saddlery, if you want to work with suppliers to the horse riding industry.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You can do an apprenticeship to get into this job, such as:

  • Leather Craftsperson Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship
  • Bespoke Saddler Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship

These can take around 2 years to complete.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Other ways in

Apply directly

You can apply directly to be taken on as a trainee leather craftworker. Employers may be more interested in your practical ability than formal qualifications, although it'll help if you have GCSEs in subjects like English, art and design, maths, and design and technology.

Other routes

If you want to work in saddlery and harness making, you can do specialist training through The Society of Master Saddlers.

Registration and professional bodies

Further information

You can find out more about working in leathercrafts from UKFT Futures and The Leathersellers' Company.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for leather craftworker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Apprenticeships

3 for this job
Level 2About 15 months

Footwear manufacturer

Employers may ask for
Individual employers will set their own entry requirements.
Details on Skills England
Level 3About 2 years

Bespoke saddler

You gain
City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma in Saddlery (Saddle and Bridle pathways)
Leads to
The Society of Master Saddlers (SMS)
Details on Skills England

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • uses hand tools or machine to cut out, trim, punch holes in or stitch guide lines on leather or leather substitute component parts
  • positions leather and rubber footwear component parts on lasts and shapes and joins uppers to insoles and soles
  • uses hand tools or machine to make up and repair saddles, harnesses, belts, straps and other leather products
  • uses hand and machine tools to sew and stitch leather and/or other material in the making and decoration of footwear and leather goods other than garments
  • prepares paper or paperboard master patterns of component parts of footwear
  • waxes, cleans and finishes footwear and other leather goods

Skills

  • reduce environmental impact of footwear manufacturing
  • use communication techniques
  • apply assembling techniques for cemented footwear construction
  • apply basic rules of maintenance to leather goods and footwear machinery
  • apply footwear bottoms pre-assembling techniques
  • apply footwear finishing techniques
  • apply footwear uppers pre-assembling techniques
  • apply pre-stitching techniques
  • apply stitching techniques
  • create patterns for footwear
  • perform manual cutting for footwear uppers
  • apply footwear and leather goods quality control techniques
  • apply machine cutting techniques for footwear and leather goods
  • apply technical communication skills

Knowledge

  • footwear components
  • footwear equipments
  • footwear machinery
  • footwear manufacturing technology
  • footwear materials
  • footwear quality
  • leather goods components
  • leather goods manufacturing processes

Suits people who like

  • Practical, hands-on work
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for textiles, printing and other skilled trades, a group of 17 jobs that includes footwear and leather working trades.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035→ 0%about 0 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035276,000including people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.