How to become a sheet metal worker
Official title: Sheet metal worker
Also called: Sheet metal fabricator, Sheet metal welder
Sheet metal workers build, install and repair sheet metal products.
Main tasks
- Make metal products, parts and components
- Repair metal products, parts and components
- Measure metal for cutting and fitting
- Mark metal for cutting and bending
- Assemble sheet metal products and equipment
- Weld metal parts together
- Smooth rough metal edges and surfaces
- Read plans for sheet metal projects
How to become one
You usually need to do an apprenticeship to become a sheet metal worker and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: to do an apprenticeship in welding and metalwork; experience in similar work.
Ways in
- Apprenticeship: Apprenticeship in welding and metalwork. TEC links this job to study in mechanical and industrial engineering and technology. New Zealand apprenticeship (NZQA level 4). Qualifications: NZ Cert in Engineering Fabrication (Trade). Usually 2.5 to 3 years. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $82,000 a year one year after study and $91,000 five years after; 89% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $61,000 to $97,000 a year (median $78,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $129,000 a year
- TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $37.50 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: Decrease (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Sheetmetal Trades Workers: 4,332 at the 2018 Census and 4,122 at the 2023 Census (-4.8%). 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 1,000 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Sheetmetal Trades Workers, 12% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Sheetmetal Trades Workers work (2023 Census): Auckland 27.6%, Canterbury 17.8%, and Waikato 11.5%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a sheet metal worker?
You usually need to do an apprenticeship to become a sheet metal worker and experience may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 2 to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: to do an apprenticeship in welding and metalwork; experience in similar work.
How much does a sheet metal worker earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $78,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $61,000 to $97,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a sheet metal worker grown in New Zealand?
It has shrunk: TEC records a decrease 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 sheet metal worker?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- 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
- 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
- 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