Craft and related trades workers · code 7126
Plumbers and pipe fitters
AI can read the drawings. It can't solder a joint under the floorboards.
Almost all of the work is measuring, cutting, joining and fitting pipes on site, which no AI tool can do. Reading the plans is the only task it gets anywhere near.
What they actually do (and what else they get called)
Plumbers and pipe fitters assemble, install, repair and maintain pipe systems, drains, gutters, ducts and related fittings and fixtures for water, gas, drainage, sewerage, heating, cooling and ventilation systems, and for hydraulic and pneumatic equipment. Tasks include - (a) examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required; (b) measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems; (c) installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools; (d) laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes; (e) inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Drain technician - Gas fitter - Pipe fitter - Pipe layer - Plumber - Ventilation pipe fitter Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics - 7127 Notes Installers of metal drains, gutters and ducts are classified in Unit Group 7126: Plumbers and Pipe Fitters. Workers who make sheet metal products for adaptation and installation plumbers are classified in Unit Group 7213: Sheet Metal Workers.
- pipeline maintenance worker
- water conservation technician
- plumber
- irrigation system installer
- irrigation technician
- drain technician
- water network operative
- sewerage network operative
- sprinkler fitter
- gas service technician
- bathroom fitter
- heating engineer
- sewer construction worker
- septic tank servicer
Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.
85 / 100
Strongly holds up against AI
Most of this job still needs an actual human. AI would mostly be making the tea.
Not the odds you keep your job. It's how much of the everyday work still needs a person, out of 100.
The ILO's official verdict: Not Exposed
77 of 427 for holding up against AI
Not quite your week? Make it yours ↓
Why this score?
The ILO rated each of this job's 5 tasks for how much of it AI could do. They average 15.2 out of 100, so it holds up at 100 − 15.2 = 84.8.
That's the whole sum. No black box, no secret sauce: you can check it against the ILO's study. ILO group “Not Exposed”: None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count.
from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use
Pinch of salt: this number is probably too rosy
It only asks what AI software could do, and this job is 66 out of 100 hands-on. A chatbot can't do that part. A robot might, one day, and nobody measures how close that is.
Man v Bot · compare
Who holds up better?
Plumbers and pipe fitters 85
vGo on, try your partner's job. Or your sibling's. We won't tell.
Man v Bot
Where the bot helps, and where the human wins
Bot
What AI takes
The routine stuff. You may not miss it.
- Planning layouts and materials from drawings.
- Quotes, scheduling and ordering.
- Test records and certification.
Man
What people still do better
Judgement, trust and skilled hands. Hard to download.
- Installing and repairing pipes in cramped spaces.
- Finding faults with pressure tests and experience.
- Working safely with gas and water.
Both
What's arriving
New work that only exists because the AI does.
- Heat pumps and low-carbon heating.
- Smart water meters and leak sensors.
- Irrigation and water conservation systems.
Written by a human, from the ILO's task ratings below. Yes, we see the irony. Read it as one person's take.
Meet your two rivals
They're not the same machine. AI software can only reach the parts of a job done on a screen or in words. A chatbot can't climb a ladder. A robot might, one day, if it doesn't fall off.
The AI
Lives in a screen. Never had to fix a boiler.
Threat level: Low
15 could do without you
It could take over very little of the work on its own. It could help with 59 of 100.
The robot
The wildcard. Has hands, still working out stairs.
How much it matters here: Higher
66 how hands-on
Most of this job needs hands, a body or turning up. That's robot territory, and nobody measures how far robots have got well enough to give you a number. We won't make one up.
So could a robot do the physical part?
More fine handwork, and more time in cramped or awkward spots, than a typical hands-on job. That is exactly what machines find hardest: they do best in tidy, predictable places.
Robots hate fiddly work in awkward spaces. On that measure, this job scores 50 out of 100. The higher it is, the longer the robot waits.
hands-on
and cramped
Kind of hands-on work Hands-on, fiddly work in tight spaces
The small print
They aren't a robot score, and nothing on this page is. Nobody measures how far robots have got well enough to put a number on it. These are the closest thing we have: how hands-on the job is, and how much fiddly, cramped work it takes, which is what Frey and Osborne found hardest for machines.
From O*NET, averaged across 3 US jobs .
finger skill 43.8 · hand skill 43.8 · cramped spaces 62.5 · averaged · rule: hands-on 50+ · fiddly 39.4+
estimated O*NET 31.0 BLS occupational crosswalk chain ISCO-08 to 2010 SOC (Aug 2012, rev. Jun 2015); 2010 to 2018 SOC (Nov 2017); O*NET-SOC 2019 taxonomy data 0.8-observed-use measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement
The job, task by task
Every job is really a bundle of tasks. Here's this one unpacked, with how much of each AI could do, out of 100. The score is the average, and averages can hide a lot.
AI's favourite task here scores 25, against an average of 15. The bigger the gap, the more lopsided the job: some of it wide open to AI, some of it barely touched.
- 25
Examining blueprints, drawings and specifications to determine the layout of plumbing and ventilation systems and materials required
Low - 21
Inspecting, examining and testing installed systems and pipes, using pressure gauge, hydrostatic testing, observation or other methods.
Very Low - 10
Measuring, cutting, threading, bending, jointing, assembling, installing, maintaining and repairing pipes, fittings and fixtures of drainage, heating, ventilation, water supply and sewerage systems
Very Low - 10
Installing gas appliances, dishwashers and water heaters, sinks and toilets using hand and power tools
Very Low - 10
Laying clay, concrete or cast-iron pipes in ditches to form sewers, drains or water mains, or for other purposes
Very Low
5 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's
from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.8-observed-use
New · the weekly task audit
Your week, your score
The score above assumes plumbers and pipe fitters spend the same time on every task. You don't. Slide each task to how much of your week it takes, and we'll re-weight the same ILO ratings to fit your job.
- Some
- Some
- Some
- Some
- Some
Your score
85 / 100
Same as the job as a whole, so far.
Move the sliders to make it yours.
The job as a whole: 85 / 100
Link copied.
Nothing you enter leaves your browser. The link just carries your slider positions.
Sidekick or replacement?
A tool that makes you faster is a very different thing from one that does the task while you watch. Jobs and Skills Australia measured the two separately, which is handy.
- AI helps you
- 59
- AI does it for you
- 15
Sidekick wins, by 44 points.
How good a match is this?
One Australian job matches, but only partly: not everyone in it does this job. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.
estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.8-observed-use matched to Australian jobs 3341
So, should plumbers and pipe fitters be worried?
Short answer: not really. Put the kettle on.
No. The most exposed task is reading drawings to plan layouts and materials, rated Low; installing, testing and repairing pipes rate Very Low. Quoting and planning get quicker, and heat pumps and water systems bring new work.
Worth remembering: we score tasks, not jobs. When AI takes on a task, the job usually reshuffles around it rather than vanishing.
How are the neighbours doing?
There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” family, averaging 84. This one is above the family average.
- Bricklayers and related workers 91
- Building structure cleaners 91
- Building frame and related trades wor… 91
- Floor layers and tile setters 90
- Concrete placers, concrete finishers … 90
- Stonemasons, stone cutters, splitters… 89
- Pelt dressers, tanners and fellmongers 89
- Structural-metal preparers and erecto… 89
- Plasterers 89
- Spray painters and varnishers 88
- Shotfirers and blasters 88
- Sewing, embroidery and related workers 88
- Butchers, fishmongers and related foo… 88
- Roofers 87
- Painters and related workers 87
- Riggers and cable splicers 87
- Insulation workers 87
- Carpenters and joiners 87
- Welders and flamecutters 87
- Bicycle and related repairers 87
- Handicraft workers in textile, leathe… 87
- Fumigators and other pest and weed co… 87
- Metal moulders and coremakers 87
- Handicraft workers in wood, basketry … 86
- House builders 86
- Glaziers 86
- Musical instrument makers and tuners 86
- Tobacco preparers and tobacco product… 86
A closer look
There is a written profile for a job in this group.