Toymaker
Also called toy maker, toy fixer, toy creator
Toymakers create or reproduce hand-made objects for sale and exhibition made of various materials such as plastic, wood and textile. They develop, design and sketch the object, select the materials and cut, shape and process the materials as necessary and apply finishes. In addition, toymakers maintain and repair all types of toys, including mechanical ones. They identify defects in toys, replace damaged parts and restore their functionality.
What you'd do
Handicraft workers in wood, basketry and related materials · ILO- Preparing wood, straw, rattan, reeds, shells, or similar materials
- Carving floral and artistic designs on wooden surfaces for decorative purposes
- Painting freehand decorative designs on glass and pottery or porcelain ware
- Carving, assembling, weaving, painting and decorating various articles for personal or household use such as salad bowls, serving-spoons, cutting-boards, trays, vases, jugs, baskets, straw hats, straw mats and similar objects
- Carving, assembling, weaving and painting various decorative articles such as statues and other sculptures, chess pieces, jewellery and similar objects
- Making wicker furniture from peeled and softened rattan, reeds, rushes, willow branches and similar materials
- Making various kinds of baskets by interlacing osier, rattan, reeds, rushes or similar materials
- Forming bottom of basket by interlacing strips of rattan, wood veneer or other material with framework of rods of material such as willow
- Inserting rods around edge of bottom between woven sections of bottom and bending them upright to serve as framework for sides
- Selecting and preparing brush materials, such as bristles, nylon, fibres and wire, and setting them in brush base
- Selecting and preparing materials, such as broom corn, bass, whisker and fibre, and fastening them to broom handles
- Indoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Some contact with people, mostly with colleagues
- Some freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Deadlines most weeks
- Some repetitive tasks
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 €1,100 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 vocationalUpper secondary or vocational training in materials (glass, paper, plastic and wood) 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 0.14 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
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 handicraft workers in wood, basketry and related materials. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).