Craft and related trades workers · code 7316
Sign writers, decorative painters, engravers and etchers
Signwriters, decorative painters, engravers and etchers decorate articles made of wood, metal, textiles, glass, ceramics and other materials. They plan, lay out and paint letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs and engrave and etch ornamental and floral designs on glass and other articles. Tasks include - (a) painting decorative freehand designs on objects such as pottery, glass, cigarette cases or lampshades; (b) transferring decorative or ornamental designs onto articles from paper transfers; (c) integrating and developing visual elements, such as line, space, mass, colour and perspective, in order to produce desired effects such as the illustration of ideas, emotions or moods; (d) laying out and painting in one or more languages letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs; (e) sketching or tracing designs or lettering onto work pieces or pattern materials to prepare patterns or stencils; (f) designing patterns or lettering to paint work pieces such as signs, glassware, pottery or zinc plates; (g) using software and routing equipment to produce three-dimensional carved images for application onto larger signage as well as engraved and inlaid signs; (h) designing and producing normal flat cut lettering, or lettering that is shadowed with applied vinyl, or lettering that is ready cut for application; (i) writing, painting or printing signs or show cards used for display or other purposes; (j) cutting out letters and signs for display purposes from wallboard or cardboard, by hand or machines such as electrically powered jigsaws or bandsaws; (k) examining sketches, diagrams, samples, blueprints or photographs to decide how designs are to be etched, cut or engraved onto work pieces; (l) measuring and computing dimensions of lettering, designs or patterns to be engraved; (m) engraving and printing patterns, ornamental designs, etchings, trademarks, figures or lettering onto flat or curved surfaces of a wide variety of metal, glass, plastic, or ceramic items; (n) etching decorative designs, calibration markings and other figures on glass articles. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Decorative painter - Glass enameller - Glass engraver - Glass etcher - Signwriter Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Building painter - 7 131 - Manufactured articles painter - 7132 - Vehicle painter - 7132 - Ceramics painting machine operator - 8181 - Glass painting machine operator - 8181
None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 126 of 427 for holding up against AI.
Also known as
- sign maker
- metal engraver
- decorative painter
- glass engraver
Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.
against AI Not Exposed
AI could take on 18.4 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 18.4 = 81.6
That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.
out of 100
From O*NET, averaged across 2 US jobs
and cramped
finger skill 47.3 · hand skill 44.7 · cramped spaces 28.4 · averaged
Kind of hands-on work · hands-on under 50 Less than half hands-on
Less than half of this job is hands-on. Robots still matter, but for a smaller part of the work, so we don't sort it any further.
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 0.7-work-setting measures chosen by Frey & Osborne (2017) · the grouping is a sorting, not a measurement
What this number leaves out This job rates 49.9 out of 100 for how hands-on it is. The score above only looks at AI tools, not robots, but for work this far from the physical that matters less.
The tasks behind the score
The score is the average of these. A job is really a bundle of tasks, and an average can hide how uneven that bundle is.
The task AI could do most of scores 46.5, while the average is 18.4. A big gap means some of this job is wide open to AI and some of it barely at all. That's quite different from a job where everything sits somewhere in the middle, even when the averages match.
- 46.5
Integrating and developing visual elements, such as line, space, mass, colour, and perspective, in order to produce desired effects such as the illustration of ideas, emotions or moods
Low - 20.6
Designing pattern or lettering to paint work pieces such as signs, glassware, pottery or zinc plates
Very Low - 19
Laying out and painting in one or more languages letters, figures, monograms and designs to make signs
Very Low - 19
Writing, painting or printing signs or show cards used for display or other purposes
Very Low - 18.5
Designing and producing normal flat cut lettering, or lettering that is shadowed with applied vinyl or lettering that is ready cut for application
Very Low - 16.6
Etching decorative designs, calibration markings and other figures on glass articles.
Very Low - 16.3
Using software and routing equipment to produce three-dimensional Carved images for application onto larger signage as well as engraved and inlaid signs
Very Low - 16
Examining sketches, diagrams, samples, blueprints, or photographs to decide how designs are to be etched, cut or engraved onto work pieces
Very Low - 15.3
Measuring and computing dimensions of lettering, designs, or patterns to be engraved
Very Low - 15
Sketching or tracing design or lettering onto work piece or pattern material to prepare pattern or stencil
Very Low - 14.5
Painting decorative freehand designs on objects, such as pottery, glass, cigarette cases, lampshades
Very Low - 14.5
Engraving and printing patterns, ornamental designs, etchings, trademarks, figures or lettering onto flat or curved surfaces of a wide variety of metal, glass, plastic, or ceramic items
Very Low - 14.1
Transferring from paper transfers decorative or ornamental designs on articles
Very Low - 11.8
Cutting out letters and signs for display purposes from wallboard or cardboard, by hand or machines such as electrically powered jigsaw or bandsaw
Very Low
14 tasks · the High to Very Low labels are the ILO's
from the source Working Paper 140, Generative AI and Jobs 2025 index data 0.7-work-setting
Helped, or replaced?
The score above can't tell a tool that makes you faster from one that does the task instead of you. Jobs and Skills Australia looked at those two things separately, and this is their result, matched to this job.
2 Australian jobs match this one, and we've simply averaged them. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.
- AI helps you
- 60
- AI does it for you
- 32
Helping wins by 28 points.
estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 3233, 3996
Compared with similar jobs
There are 65 jobs in the “Craft and related trades workers” group, averaging 83.5. This one is below that.
- Bricklayers and related workers 91.1
- Building structure cleaners 90.8
- Building frame and related trades wor… 90.6
- Floor layers and tile setters 89.8
- Concrete placers, concrete finishers … 89.6
- Stonemasons, stone cutters, splitters… 89.1
- Pelt dressers, tanners and fellmongers 89
- Structural-metal preparers and erecto… 88.9
- Plasterers 88.6
- Spray painters and varnishers 88.1
- Shotfirers and blasters 88
- Sewing, embroidery and related workers 87.8
- Butchers, fishmongers and related foo… 87.5
- Roofers 87.4
- Painters and related workers 87.4
- Riggers and cable splicers 87.4
- Insulation workers 87.3
- Carpenters and joiners 87
- Welders and flamecutters 87
- Bicycle and related repairers 86.9
- Handicraft workers in textile, leathe… 86.7
- Fumigators and other pest and weed co… 86.7
- Metal moulders and coremakers 86.6
- Handicraft workers in wood, basketry … 86.4
- House builders 86.3
- Glaziers 86.3
- Musical instrument makers and tuners 86
- Tobacco preparers and tobacco product… 85.6