Foundry operative
Also called caster, ladleman, foundryman
Foundry operative manufacture castings, including pipes, tubes, hollow profiles and other products of the first processing of steel, by operating hand-controlled equipment in a foundry. They conduct the flow of molten ferrous and non-ferrous metals into moulds, taking care to create the exact right circumstances to obtain the highest quality metal. They observe the flow of metal to identify faults. In case of a fault, they notify the authorised personnel and participate in the removal of the fault.
What you'd do
Metal moulders and coremakers · ILO- Making moulds by hand or using auxiliary machines on a bench for small metal castings, on the foundry floor, or in a pit for large castings
- Making cores for use in metal moulds
- Cleaning and smoothing moulds, core boxes, and repairing surface imperfections
- Moving and positioning work pieces such as mould sections, patterns, and bottom boards, using cranes, or signalling others to move work pieces
- Positioning patterns inside mould sections and clamping sections together
- Cutting spouts, runner holes and sprue holes into moulds
- Lifting upper mould sections from lower sections and remove moulded patterns
- On your feet most of the day
- Some contact with people, mostly with colleagues
- Some freedom to decide
- Usually 40 hours a week
- Deadlines now and then
- Varied tasks, little repetition
Will there be jobs?
Limited prospectsFewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
About averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,200 a month (Bulgaria) to €5,100 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among craft and related trades workers in the EU, women earn 26% less per hour than men. Craft and related trades workers · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Upper secondary or vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training is the usual route.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.13 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for metal moulders and coremakers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).