How to become a sheet metal worker
Official title: Sheet metal worker
Also called: Aircraft sheet metal worker, Auto-body repairer, Boilermaker, Boilermaking plater, Boilersmith, Coppersmith, Furniture assembler (sheet metal), Furniture sheet metal worker, Ornamental sheet metal worker, Panel beater (aircraft), Panel beater (vehicle), Sheet metal marker
Sheet metal worker makes, installs and repairs articles and parts of articles made out of sheet metal such as sheet steel, copper, tin, brass, aluminium, zinc or galvanised iron.
Main tasks
- Marking sheet metal for cutting and shaping
- Making and repairing household utensils and other articles in tin, copper and light alloys, or ornamental articles and fittings
- Making and repairing boilers, tanks, vats and similar containers
- Installing and repairing sheet-metal parts of vehicles and aircraft
- Converting blueprints into shop drawings to be followed in the construction and assembly of sheet metal products
- Determining project requirements, including scope, assembly sequences, and required methods and materials, according to blueprints, drawings, and written or verbal instructions
- Inspecting product quality and installation to ensure conformance to specifications
Pay · Outlook · AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
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
- 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