Textile machine operator

Table of Contents

1. Description 2. Other titles 3. Minimum qualifications 4. ISCO skill level 5. Potential next steps 6. Essential knowledge and skills 7. Skills group distribution 8. ISCO group and title

Career Guidance Occupations 8 - Plant and machine operators and assemblers 81 - Stationary plant and machine operators 815 - Textile, fur and leather products machine operators 8152 - Weaving and knitting machine operators Textile machine operator

Description

Textile machine operator supervises the textile process of a group of machines, monitoring quality and productivity. They inspect textile machines after set up, start up, and during production to ensure the product meets specs and quality standards.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to textile machine operator:

textile operations supervisor
textile processing supervisor
textile processing forewoman
textile machinist
textile machine operators
textile supervisor
textile processing foreman
textile supervisors

Minimum qualifications

A high school diploma is generally the minimum required to work as a textile machine operator.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Textile machine operator is a Skill level 2 occupation.

Potential next steps

General track

Closest matches included — may require reskilling

Jobs that share a similar set of skills to your current occupation — the most natural lateral or step-up moves. Evolution score combines skill overlap, ISCO proximity, and seniority signals. Skill match is exact overlap with your current occupation's skills. Soft match also credits related and sibling skills.

textile pattern making machine operator
Evolution: 65% · Match: 76% · Soft: 78%
Same minor groupBroader scopeGood option
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, control textile process, manufacture man-made fibres, tend weaving machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
finishing textile technician
Evolution: 39% · Match: 23% · Soft: 38%
Same minor groupBroader scopeExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, control textile process, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture knitted textiles, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines, tend textile washing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
textile dyer
Evolution: 35% · Match: 29% · Soft: 35%
Same minor groupExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, control textile process, manufacture man-made fibres, textile technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines, tend spinning machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
textile finishing machine operator
Evolution: 35% · Match: 29% · Soft: 38%
Same minor groupExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, control textile process, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture knitted textiles, textile technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
nonwoven filament machine operator
Evolution: 33% · Match: 35% · Soft: 44%
Same sub-majorExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, manufacture knitted textiles, use textile finishing machine technologies, tend weaving machines, tend textile finishing machines, tend textile washing machines, tend textile dyeing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment

Expert track

Closest matches included — may require reskilling

Jobs that require deeper or more specialised skills in the same domain — for those looking to build expertise. Evolution score combines skill overlap, ISCO proximity, and seniority signals. Skill match is exact overlap with your current occupation's skills. Soft match also credits related and sibling skills.

nonwoven staple machine operator
Evolution: 51% · Match: 29% · Soft: 35%
Same minor groupSpecialisation signalExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture knitted textiles, use textile finishing machine technologies, textile technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines, tend textile washing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
spinning textile operator
Evolution: 40% · Match: 47%
Same minor groupSpecialisation signalExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, control textile process, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines, manufacture braided products, textile techniques, tend textile printing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
knitting machine operator
Evolution: 35% · Match: 29% · Soft: 41%
Same unit groupExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, manufacture man-made fibres, use textile finishing machine technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend weaving machines, tend textile finishing machines, tend textile washing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
weaving machine supervisor
Evolution: 31% · Match: 29% · Soft: 44%
Same unit groupExploratory
Missing essential skills: manufacture nonwoven staple products, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture knitted textiles, use textile finishing machine technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend textile finishing machines, tend textile washing machines, tend spinning machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment
tufting operator
Evolution: 28% · Match: 23% · Soft: 38%
Same unit groupExploratory
Missing essential skills: use textile technique for hand-made products, manufacture nonwoven staple products, manufacture man-made fibres, manufacture knitted textiles, use textile finishing machine technologies, manufacture non-woven filament products, tend textile finishing machines, tend textile washing machines
Missing optional skills: operate welding equipment

No potential next step identified on the Manager track track for this occupation.

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of textile machine operator.

Textile technologies: Textile technologies to design, manufacture and evaluate the properties of textiles.
Textile techniques: Have a thorough understanding of textile processing techniques.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of textile machine operator.

Use textile technique for hand-made products: Using textile technique to produce hand-made products, such as carpets, tapestry, embroidery, lace, silk screen printing, wearing apparel, etc.
Manufacture nonwoven staple products: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture nonwoven staple products, keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Control textile process: Planning and monitoring textile production to achieve control on behalf of quality, productivity and delivery time.
Manufacture man-made fibres: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture man-made fibers, ensuring that the product meets the required specifications, keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Manufacture knitted textiles: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture knitted products keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Use textile finishing machine technologies: Use textile finishing machine technologies that enable the coating or laminating of fabrics.
Manufacture non-woven filament products: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture nonwoven filament products, keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend weaving machines: Operate weaving machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend textile finishing machines: Operate textile finishing machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend textile washing machines: Operate textile washing machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend spinning machines: Operate spinning machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend textile dyeing machines: Operate textile dyeing machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Manufacture braided products: Perform the operation, monitoring and maintenance of machines and processes to manufacture braided products while keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend textile printing machines: Operate textile printing machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.
Tend textile drying machines: Operate textile drying machines keeping efficiency and productivity at high levels.

Skills group distribution

ISCO group and title

8152 – Weaving and knitting machine operators

References

Textile machine operator – ESCO

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