Shoe Repairer

Also known as:

Cobbler
Heel Bar Operator

Introduction

Shoe repairers mend all types of footwear. They may operate from a shop or site within a high street shop. They may also repair other leather goods, replace watch straps and watch batteries, engrave metal and cut keys. There are very few vacancies for shoe repairers.

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Work Activities

Shoe repairers greet customers, advise on the type of repair that needs doing, and then use both hand tools and machinery to complete the job.

Shoe repairers' tools include knives, pincers, a hammer and a finishing machine that removes the worn parts of the shoe and smoothes the remaining material. New heels are put on with either an air-powered gun or a hand gun and a driver; they are then hammered into place. Soles are glued, then stuck on by a sole press.

Shoe repairers also use an outsole stitching machine to sew the soles of welted shoes to the bottom of the shoe. They use an insole stitcher to stitch the soles on through the insole. They use the finishing machine again to get rid of any rough edges. The work is completed on a polishing machine.

Shoe repairers may sell accessories such as polish, dyes, shoe laces, handbags and belts. They have to take money for these sales and for repairs, which means operating a till and giving change.

If a customer wants to leave shoes in the shop and collect them later, shoe repairers make out a ticket and provide a receipt when the customer collects the repaired shoes.

Many shoe repairers also offer key cutting and engraving services, using specialist machinery.

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Personal Qualities and Skills

To be a shoe repairer, you should enjoy using your hands and be able to work quickly, neatly and tidily. Speed is very important because some customers want their shoes repaired in minutes. The job involves a lot of standing, so you should be fairly fit and also have good eyesight.

The work may not be suitable if you have sensitive skin, as your hands are likely to become cut and nicked by the equipment used. For this reason, you'll need to be very safety conscious.

Working conditions can be dirty and noisy with strong smells.

It is important that you enjoy meeting people and dealing with the public, and also feel confident when in charge of a till and handling money. Arithmetic is, therefore, a useful skill and so is literacy for dealing with orders, receipts and invoices.

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Pay and Opportunities

The pay rates given below are approximate.

Shoe repairers earn in the range of £220 - £270 a week, rising to around £330 - £410 a week.

Shoe repairers usually work a basic 39-hour week, sometimes with early starts. Most repairers work on Saturdays, with time off in the week in lieu.

There are shoe repair shops throughout the country, but they are often very small and only need one or two staff. Opportunities are therefore limited. Some shoe repairers are self-employed.

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Adult Opportunities

It is now illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

Some entrants have craft skills, and have developed other relevant skills through dealing with the public in a retail setting and/or handling cash.

• 34% of people in occupations such as shoe repairer work part-time.

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