How to become a glass or Ceramics plant operator
Official title: Glass/Ceramics plant operator
Also called: Abrasives mixer, Biscuit placer (ceramics), Biscuit-kiln fireman (pottery and porcelain), Biscuit-kiln fireman (tile), Bottle making machine operator, Brick and tile kilnman, Brick and tile ovenman, Ceramic kiln operator, Clay filter press operator, Clay fitter press operator, Clay grinder, Clay millman
Glass/Ceramics plant operator operates machines used in the manufacture of glass, ceramics, fibreglass filaments, porcelain, tiles or bricks. He/she operates machines to anneal, harden or decorate glass and ceramics. He/she may set and maintain the furnace temperature, start the machine and observe the process to detect defects.
Main tasks
- Operating and monitoring glass-making furnaces to make glass by melting and fusing pre-mixed ingredients
- Tending hot or cold-end spray equipment used to coat glassware with surface hardener
- Operating and maintaining machines that press or blow molten glass in moulds to form or shape containers, such as bottles, jars and drinking glasses
- Operating a hand press to mould glass into the required shape
- Operating a drawing kiln to process molten glass into a continuous sheet of flat glass
- Operating and monitoring floating-glass production plant
- Operating and maintaining finishing machines to grind, drill, sand, bevel, decorate, wash or polish glass or glass products
- Setting and operating press machines to mould ceramic articles from moist clay
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
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Questions people ask
Will AI change the work of a glass or Ceramics plant operator?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- 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