How to become a shoemaker or related worker

Official title: Shoemakers and related workers

Also called: Cobbler, Orthopaedic shoemaker, Saddler, Shoemaker

Shoemakers and related workers make, modify and repair standard, custom or orthopaedic footwear and natural or synthetic leather articles such as luggage, handbags and belts (except for leather garments, hats and gloves), or participate in the manufacture of shoes and related goods. They decorate, reinforce or finish shoes, luggage, handbags and belts.

Main tasks

• 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 customers’ 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

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$21,000 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Tailors, dressmakers, furriers and hatters
• Sewing, embroidery and related workers
• Garment and related pattern-makers and cutters
• Upholsterers and related workers
• Pelt dressers, tanners and fellmongers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a shoemaker or related worker?

Usually not. Only 8% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a shoemaker or related worker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Updated 4 October 2026