How to become a wool classer
Official title: Wool classer
Also called: Fleece classer, Wool grader, Wool sorter
Wool classers sort wool into categories and make sure wool is clean and labelled with the right information for sale.
Main tasks
- Sort wool
- Keep different wool types separated
- Make sure wool is clean
- Inspect wool for quality
- Measure wool for length
- Label wool
- Package wool for sales
- Record wool information
How to become one
You usually learn on the job to become a wool classer and experience or a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Wool Technology and Classing (Level 4); experience in similar work; a driver licence with a forklift (F) endorsement. Registration body: New Zealand Wool Classers Association.
Ways in
- Certificates and diplomas: Intermediate certificates in wool and fibre harvesting and science. TEC links this job to study in agriculture. Qualifications: NZ Cert in Wool Technology and Classing. Usually 6 months.
- Registration or licence: Registration body: New Zealand Wool Classers Association (https://woolclassers.org.nz).
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Median pay: $62,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
- Upper: $101,000 a year
- TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $29.81 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.
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 84 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Other Miscellaneous Technicians and Trades Workers, 24% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Other Miscellaneous Technicians and Trades Workers work (2023 Census): Auckland 33.3%, Canterbury 14%, and Waikato 11.3%.
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Questions people ask
How do I become a wool classer?
You usually learn on the job to become a wool classer and experience or a qualification may be useful. You usually don’t need specific NCEA levels for this job, but Level 2 may be useful. Other requirements: a New Zealand Certificate in Wool Technology and Classing (Level 4); experience in similar work; a driver licence with a forklift (F) endorsement. Registration body: New Zealand Wool Classers Association.
How much does a wool classer earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $62,000 a year, before tax.
Has the number of people working as a wool classer 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 wool classer?
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
- 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