Shoemaker
Also called cobbler, shoe repairer, custom shoemaker
Shoemakers use hand or machine operations for traditional manufacturing of a various range of footwear. They also repair all types of footwear in a repair shop.
What you'd do
Shoemakers and related workers · ILO- Making, modifying and repairing standard footwear to meet individual requirements
- Making, modifying and repairing orthopaedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modifying existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs
- Repairing belts, luggage, purses and similar products
- Taking plaster casts of deformed legs or feet to prepare drawings
- Preparing inserts, heel pads and lifts from casts of customers' feet
- Studying drawings and other specifications to make footwear according to customer’s needs
- Studying work orders and/or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications and the types of materials to be used
- Checking the texture, colour and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose
- Cutting out, shaping and padding parts for making leather articles
- Sewing rips or patching holes to repair articles, such as purses, belts, shoes and luggage
- Removing and examining shoes, shoe parts and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels
- Attaching accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products
- Making and repairing articles such as saddles and harnesses for animals, luggage, handbags, brief-cases, leather bags, belts and other accessories
Apply stitching techniquesApply pre-stitching techniquesCut footwear uppersCreate patterns for footwearPerform pattern grading+ 5 more essential skills
What the work is like
- Indoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Lots of contact with people, including the public
- Good freedom to decide
- Usually 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Varied tasks, little repetition
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Shoe and Leather Workers and Repairers"
Will there be jobs?
Limited prospectsFewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
910,000 replacing leavers
332,000 jobs disappear
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Right now
7 of 27 countries report a shortage of shoemakers and related workers, 4 a surplus.
Shoemakers and related workers · EURESWhat does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,000 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,800 (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 in textiles (clothes, footwear and leather) is the usual route.
Highest qualification of food processing, woodworking, garment and other craft and related trades workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 11%Vocational 53%General secondary 10%Basic schooling 26%
Field that teaches it
Textiles (clothes, footwear and leather)
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 littleAI 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 0.17 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 13 tasks
Studying drawings and other specifications to make footwear according to customer’s needs0.32
Checking the texture, colour and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose0.26
Studying work orders and/or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications and the types of materials to be used0.23
Attaching accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products0.17
Removing and examining shoes, shoe parts and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels0.17
Making, modifying and repairing standard footwear to meet individual requirements0.15
Making, modifying and repairing orthopaedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modifying existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs0.15
Taking plaster casts of deformed legs or feet to prepare drawings0.14
Preparing inserts, heel pads and lifts from casts of customers' feet0.14
Cutting out, shaping and padding parts for making leather articles0.12
Repairing belts, luggage, purses and similar products0.12
Making and repairing articles such as saddles and harnesses for animals, luggage, handbags, brief-cases, leather bags, belts and other accessories0.12
Sewing rips or patching holes to repair articles, such as purses, belts, shoes and luggage0.11
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 shoemakers and related workers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).