How to become a leather worker

Official title: Leather worker

Also called: Cutter, Leather cutter, Leather goods maker, Leather upholsterer

Leather workers make and repair leather goods like shoes, clothing, saddlery, luggage and upholstery.

Main tasks

• Make leather goods
• Repair leather goods
• Cut leather pieces to required shapes
• Align leather parts for assembly
• Adjust pieces during assembly
• Use sewing machines for stitching
• Attach buckles, straps and decorative fittings
• Trim excess material from finished items

How to become one

You usually learn on the job to become a leather worker and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Apparel and Fashion Technology (Level 4).

See the full Tahatū profile

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

• Most common pay: $54,000 to $88,000 a year (median $66,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
• Upper: $117,000 a year
• TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $31.73 an hour.
• TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
• Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
• People employed in the group Canvas and Leather Goods Makers: 756 at the 2018 Census and 570 at the 2023 Census (-24.6%). Past change, not a forecast.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• About 370 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
• In the group Canvas and Leather Goods Makers, 21% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
• Where people in the group Canvas and Leather Goods Makers work (2023 Census): Auckland 37.5%, Canterbury 13%, and Bay of Plenty 8.9%.

Related jobs

• Shoemaker
• Hand sewer
• Tailor and dressmaker
• Sewing machinist
• Textile dyeing machine operator
• Textile cutting machine operator

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Questions people ask

How do I become a leather worker?

You usually learn on the job to become a leather worker and a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but NCEA Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a New Zealand Certificate in Apparel and Fashion Technology (Level 4).

How much does a leather worker earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $66,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $54,000 to $88,000 a year.

Has the number of people working as a leather worker grown in New Zealand?

It has grown: TEC records an increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a leather worker?

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

Sources

• Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), 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

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026