Handicraft and Precision Workers

How to become a potter and related worker

Official title: Potter and related worker

Also called: Abrasive wheel moulder, Abrasive-coated cloth and paper maker, Clay extruding press operator, Potter, Pottery and porcelain caster, Pottery and porcelain die-presser, Pottery and porcelain jiggerman, Pottery and porcelain jollier, Pottery and porcelain modeller, Pottery and porcelain mould maker, Pottery and porcelain presser, Pottery and porcelain thrower

Potter and related worker prepares pottery, porcelain ware, sanitary ware, bricks, tiles and abrasive wheels by hand or by machine.

Main tasks

Making articles of pottery and porcelain
Making clay or plaster of Paris moulds
Reading technical drawings to know customer’s requirements
Forming articles on potters’ wheel by pressing thumbs into centres of revolving clay to form hollows, and press on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes
Adjusting wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner
Operating jigger machines to form ceramic ware, such as bowls, cups, plates, and saucers
Adjusting and setting controls of pug mill that mixes, extrudes, cuts, and deposits clay charges in or over moulds as specified
Smoothening surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

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

Questions people ask

Will AI change the work of a potter and related worker?

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