Leather craftsperson

Set within an industry steeped in tradition, the leather trade supports the pursuit of excellence in its traditional craft skills whilst also embracing innovation and technology. The leather craftsperson is a fundamental occupational role in the leather trade and in a sector that contributes in excess of £700 million to the British economy.

British leather and leather products have an international and iconic reputation and the continued success of the sector will depend on maintaining a skilled, well-trained workforce.

‘Leather craftsperson’ is a broad description of someone who either produces the leather or manufactures leather goods for a number of markets from sporting pursuits, such as equestrian, golf and cricket applications, to high-end retail luxury goods, such as handbags luggage and lifestyle accessories.

An employee in this occupation may work in a small enterprise producing or manufacturing specialist leather/leathergoods or in a wider factory setting as part of a production or manufacturing team producing to larger orders. They will be able to work just as effectively on their own or as part of a wider team. In both instances they will understand the impact of their role on those working around them.

The Standard is designed to give an overarching range of skills, knowledge and behaviours appropriate to both the production of leather and the manufacture of leather goods. The former involving taking raw skin and hides and converting them through chemical and mechanical processing, to produce leather ready for a variety of applications. The latter involving taking leather and forming a finished product from it, often involving processes such as stitching and cutting.

Regardless of which methods the employers’ use, leather craftspeople will know and understand the end-to-end process of how leather is produced and the manufacturing processes required to produce a final leathergoods product.

An employee in this occupation will be responsible for working efficiently and accurately to agreed product specifications and customer requirements, using both hand and machine skills, within agreed production deadlines and to the required quality standard. In their daily work they will report to line managers and supervisors and often will interact with production colleagues. Typical working pattern is Monday to Friday.

Typical day-to-day duties may include:

• The production of leather (processing and finishing);
• Quality check materials and components for faults;
• Leather cutting operations;
• Skive materials (shaving/reducing weight) ready for next stage of production;
• Prepare materials ready for next stage of production;
• Ink / paint raw / cut leathers edge;
• Hand / Machine sew leather components and where applicable assembles the components to produce the finished product;
• Examine finished leather / leather product for quality;
• Repair and/or rework leather/leather goods;
• Package product and label for onward journey.

Occupational Brief

The Trailblazer Group have prepared a recommended occupational brief for this apprenticeship standard.