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Production potter

Also called potter, pot maker, craft potter

Production potters process and form clay, by hand or by using the wheel, into end-products pottery, stoneware products, earthenware products and porcelain. They introduce the already shaped clay into kilns, heating them at a high temperature in order to remove all the water from the clay.

Will there be jobs?Limited prospects9 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Handicraft and printing workersWhat does it pay?About averageFrom about €1,100 (Bulgaria) to €4,900 (Denmark) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Handicraft and printing workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 7 in 10 train through vocational routes.Handicraft and printing workersWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.Potters and related workers · ILO

What you'd do

Potters and related workers · ILO
  • Making articles of pottery and porcelain
  • Making clay or plaster-of-Paris moulds
  • Reading technical drawings to know customer‚Äôs requirements
  • Forming articles on potter's wheel by pressing thumbs into centres of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes
  • Adjusting wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner
  • Operating jigger machines to form ceramic ware, such as bowls, cups, plates and saucers
  • Adjusting and setting controls of pug mill that mix, extrudes, cuts, and deposits clay charges in or over moulds as specified
  • Smoothening surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges
  • Forming abrasive wheels by moulding and pressing an abrasive mixture by hand or by machine
  • Examining finished ware for defects verifying accuracy of shapes and sizes of objects, using callipers and templates
  • Preparing work for sale or exhibition, and maintaining relationships with retail, pottery, art and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work
Paint decorative designsOperate a ceramics kilnHandle different pottery materialsPolish clay productsApply glaze coating+ 6 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Lots of contact with people, including the public
  • Good freedom to decide
  • Usually under 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines now and then
  • Some repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Potters, Manufacturing"

Will there be jobs?

Limited prospects

Fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.

People working as handicraft and printing workers in the EU
1.02m893k739k 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
204,000 replacing leavers 126,000 jobs disappear
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Handicraft and printing workers9
All jobs29
Right now
3 of 27 countries report a shortage of potters and related workers, 3 a surplus.
Potters and related workers · EURES

What does it pay?

About average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,100 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,900 (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 vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in materials (glass, paper, plastic and wood) is the usual route.

Highest qualification of handicraft and printing workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 17%Vocational 48%General secondary 11%Basic schooling 24%
Fields that teach it
Materials (glass, paper, plastic and wood) · Handicrafts
Vocational route, EU
7 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.18 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 11 tasks
Reading technical drawings to know customer’s requirements0.34
Preparing work for sale or exhibition, and maintaining relationships with retail, pottery, art and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work0.26
Adjusting and setting controls of pug mill that mix, extrudes, cuts, and deposits clay charges in or over moulds as specified0.24
Examining finished ware for defects verifying accuracy of shapes and sizes of objects, using callipers and templates0.19
Adjusting wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner0.15
Forming abrasive wheels by moulding and pressing an abrasive mixture by hand or by machine0.15
Operating jigger machines to form ceramic ware, such as bowls, cups, plates and saucers0.15
Forming articles on potter's wheel by pressing thumbs into centres of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes0.13
Making clay or plaster-of-Paris moulds0.13
Making articles of pottery and porcelain0.12
Smoothening surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges0.10

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 potters and related workers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).