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Rubber, plastic product manufacturing workers

How to become a Plastics Moulding Worker

Also called: Compression moulder, Injection moulder, Plastics extrusion worker, Laminate moulder, Thermoformer, Foam moulder, Blow moulder, Plastics moulding equipment operator

Heats plastic and shapes it in moulding machines to make all kinds of products.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say high school or university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but knowledge of machinery, electricity or chemistry is an advantage. People also join mid-career. At first you work on finishing or packing, then learn how to set moulding conditions while doing tasks such as feeding material into the moulding process. It takes several years of experience to learn how moulding machines work, the types of material and how to handle moulds, so that you can set up the machines yourself and make a range of products. Related qualifications include the plastics moulding exam in the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Materials, machines and moulding technology are changing quickly, so you need to keep improving your skills, for example by learning from senior staff and keeping up with new information.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Plastics Moulding Worker?

No particular education or qualifications are needed to start, but knowledge of machinery, electricity or chemistry is an advantage. People also join mid-career. At first you work on finishing or packing, then learn how to set moulding conditions while doing tasks such as feeding material into the moulding process. It takes several years of experience to learn how moulding machines work, the types of material and how to handle moulds, so that you can set up the machines yourself and make a range of products. Related qualifications include the plastics moulding exam in the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) run by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Materials, machines and moulding technology are changing quickly, so you need to keep improving your skills, for example by learning from senior staff and keeping up with new information.

How much does a Plastics Moulding Worker earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥4,582,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Rubber, plastic product manufacturing workers, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Plastics Moulding Worker?

Usually not. In this job's census occupation group, only 13% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: National trade skills test (技能検定).

Will AI change the work of a Plastics Moulding Worker?

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

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx）ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構（JILPT）作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ（IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx）ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト（job tag）より2026年10月4日にダウンロード（https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download）を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026