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.

Tasks

Tasks include -
(a) Making, modifying and repairing standard footwear to meet individual requirements;
(b) Making, modifying and repairing orthopaedic or therapeutic footwear according to doctors' prescriptions, or modifying existing footwear for people with foot problems and special needs;
(c) Repairing belts, luggage, purses and similar products;
(d) Taking plaster casts of deformed legs or feet to prepare drawings;
(e) Preparing inserts, heel pads and lifts from casts of customers' feet;
(f) Studying drawings and other specifications to make footwear according to customer’s needs;
(g) Studying work orders and/or shoe part tags to obtain information about workloads, specifications and the types of materials to be used;
(h) Checking the texture, colour and strength of leather to ensure that it is adequate for a particular purpose;
(i) Cutting out, shaping and padding parts for making leather articles;
(j) Sewing rips or patching holes to repair articles, such as purses, belts, shoes and luggage;
(k) Removing and examining shoes, shoe parts and designs to verify conformance to specifications such as proper embedding of stitches in channels;
(l) Attaching accessories or ornamentation to decorate or protect products;
(m) Making and repairing articles such as saddles and harnesses for animals, luggage, handbags, brief-cases, leather bags, belts and other accessories.