jobfacts

Textile operative

Textile process operatives — SOC 2020 8112

Textile process operatives operate machines to prepare natural and synthetic fibres for processing, spin and twist fibre into yarn, thread, twine, rope and other similar material, and estimate the quantities of colouring matter required for printing and dyeing fabrics.

Also calledSpinnerLoom operatorMachinistSilk spinnerPullerMillerand 1,189 more titles
Typical full-time pay£27,9002025 Provisional
Demand for workersNot high
New adverts a month1,400↑ 9.7%on last year · 147th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025
What full-time textile operatives earn, 2025
£27,900 typical£24,200lowest 20%n/ptop 10%
n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less thanNot published
Lowest 20% earn less than£24,200
25%£24,500
Median£27,900
75%Not published
Top 20% earn more thanNot published
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £27,900
North West!£31,500
South West!£28,200
East Midlands!£26,600
Yorkshire and The Humber!£25,100
North EastNot published by ONS–
West MidlandsNot published by ONS–
East of EnglandNot published by ONS–
LondonNot published by ONS–
South EastNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
WalesNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £27,900
North West£31,500 (small sample)
South West£28,200 (small sample)
East Midlands£26,600 (small sample)
Yorkshire and The Humber£25,100 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
West MidlandsNot published by ONS
East of EnglandNot published by ONS
LondonNot published by ONS
South EastNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
WalesNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £27,200
  • 2024 £28,000
  • 2025 Provisional£27,900
↑ 2.6% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 1,400 jobs for textile operatives 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 (2 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20261,340
Jul 20261,326
Jun 2026Not published
May 20261,325
Apr 20261,379
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20261,373
Jan 20261,357
Dec 2025728
Nov 20251,575
Oct 20251,416
Sept 20251,689
Aug 20251,329
Jul 20251,477
Jun 20251,367
May 20251,572
Apr 20251,254
Mar 20251,239
Feb 20251,326
Jan 20251,233
Dec 2024657
Nov 2024943
Oct 20241,167
Sept 20241,361
Aug 20241,389
Jul 20241,471
Jun 20241,412
May 20241,531
Apr 20241,578
Mar 20241,285
Feb 20241,330
Jan 20241,443
Dec 20231,114
Nov 20231,239
Oct 20231,111
Sept 20231,121
Aug 20231,370
Jul 20231,350
Jun 20231,997
May 20231,904
Apr 20231,562
Mar 20231,730
Feb 20231,665
Jan 20232,098
Dec 20221,649
Nov 20221,898
Oct 20222,148
Sept 20221,988
Aug 20221,970
Jul 20222,048
Jun 20222,024
May 20222,381
Apr 20221,879
Mar 20222,331
Feb 20222,088
Jan 20222,319
Dec 20211,789
Nov 20212,072
Oct 20212,148
Sept 20212,174
Aug 20211,786
Jul 20212,680
Jun 20212,061
May 20212,019
Apr 20211,741
Mar 20211,944
Feb 20211,194
Jan 20211,250
Dec 20201,071
Nov 20201,695
Oct 20201,727
Sept 20201,477
Aug 20201,261
Jul 20201,350
Jun 20201,056
May 20201,173
Apr 20201,684
Mar 20201,850
Feb 20202,146
Jan 20202,128
Dec 20191,496
Nov 20192,169
Oct 20192,305
Sept 20191,840
Aug 20191,523
Jul 20192,317
Jun 20192,231
May 20192,565
Apr 20191,850
Mar 20191,825
Feb 20191,493
Jan 20191,738
Dec 20181,098
Nov 20181,654
Oct 20181,909
Sept 20182,226
Aug 20182,744
Jul 20182,469
Jun 20181,683
May 20182,001
Apr 20181,447
Mar 20181,914
Feb 20181,677
Jan 20181,666
Dec 20171,230
Nov 20171,645
Oct 20171,673
Sept 20171,622
Aug 20171,638
Jul 20171,724
Jun 20171,976
May 20171,867
Apr 20171,711
Mar 20171,945
Feb 20171,551
Jan 20171,575
Is there a shortage of textile operatives?
Not high

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment; in 2024 it was elevated.

  • Visas grantedUsual
  • Online job advertsUsual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
17%against 27% for all jobs
Broader groupFigure for process operatives, which includes textile operatives. DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London447
Birmingham88
Derby65
Leeds64
Manchester55
Bristol, City of49
North Yorkshire42
County Durham40
Somerset40
Wiltshire38
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where textile operatives 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 textile operatives
n/p
32%!
n/p
36%!
33%!
!Small sample: treat with cautionn/p: too few in the survey to publish
Show as table
16–24Not published
25–3432% (small sample)
35–44Not published
45–5436% (small sample)
55–6433% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent!21%
Higher education below degree–
Not published
A levels or equivalent!29%
GCSEs or equivalent!34%
Other qualifications!23%
No qualifications!13%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent21% (small sample)
Higher education below degreeNot published
A levels or equivalent29% (small sample)
GCSEs or equivalent34% (small sample)
Other qualifications23% (small sample)
No qualifications13% (small sample)

Main employers: manufacture of workwear (21%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
21%
as their highest qualification
Most common qualification
GCSEs or equivalent
held by 34%
Apprenticeships
2
from level 2
Apprenticeships take
1 to 18 months
typically

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

College

You could do a college course, which may help when you start looking for work.

Courses include:

  • textiles
  • fashion and textiles
Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Apprenticeship

You could do a Textile Manufacturing Operative Level 2 Intermediate Apprenticeship with a textiles production company.

This can take between 1 and 2 years to complete and combines on-the-job training and time spent with a learning provider.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship

Apply directly

You can apply directly for textile operative roles.

Though not essential, it could be useful to have experience in:

  • textile manufacturing
  • sewing machinist work
  • knitting machinist work

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

You could do short courses at an adult education centre or online to learn about the properties of different textiles and fabrics.

Further information

You can discover more about careers in textiles from UKFT Futures.

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

Apprenticeships

2 for this job

© 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

  • sets controls, starts machinery and monitors the passage of material processed
  • replenishes the supply of input fibres, removes and replaces full output packages, cards and spools
  • detects blockages, tangled thread, defective or broken material, and joins broken ends by hand or mechanical knotting
  • checks quality of completed material, marks any flaws and removes badly damaged sections
  • examines colour cards or specifications, estimates quantity of colouring material needed to print or dye fibre and calculates and mixes ingredients accordingly
  • stretches, shrinks, brushes, dampens and presses fabric and shears or burns off protruding fabric fibres as required
  • cleans and oils machine, detects and reports mechanical faults to technicians

Skills

  • measure yarn count
  • set up machine controls
  • adjust filament tension
  • collect samples for analysis
  • convert textile fibres into sliver
  • covert slivers into thread
  • cut filament
  • maintain equipment
  • maintain work standards
  • manufacture staple yarns
  • remove defective products
  • resolve equipment malfunctions
  • set the operation speed of manufacturing machines
  • supply machine with appropriate tools

Knowledge

  • staple spinning machine technology
  • types of thread
  • textile technologies
  • rope lashing
  • rope manipulation

Suits people who like

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

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for process, plant, machine and construction operatives, a group of 25 jobs that includes textile operatives.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 19%about 142,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 2035496,000including 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.