Plant and machine operators, and assemblers · code 8152

Weaving and knitting machine operators

Weaving and knitting machine operators set up, operate and monitor weaving and knitting machines which process yarn or thread into woven, non-woven and knitted products such as cloth, lace, carpets, industrial fabric, hosiery and knitted garments, or to quilt and embroider fabric. Tasks include - (a) setting up and operating batteries of automatic, link-type knitting machines to knit garments of specified pattern and design; (b) threading yarn, thread and fabric through guides, needles and rollers of machines for weaving, knitting or other processing; (c) tending automatic looms that simultaneously weave pile yarn, filling yarn and warp yarn material to produce carpets and rugs with various coloured designs; (d) operating and monitoring looms on which yarn or twist is intersected and knotted at regular intervals to form mesh; (e) operating and monitoring large automatic multi-needle machines to embroider material or to sew lengths of several layers of material to make yard goods, quilts or mattress coverings; (f) tending circular knitting machines with automatic pattern controls that knit seamless hose; (g) operating and monitoring knitting machines to knit hosiery to shape of foot and leg; (h) operating and monitoring machines for knitting heels and toes of socks into ribs or tops cut from circular fabric; (i) operating and monitoring machines which seam openings in toes of socks; (j) operating and monitoring crochet machines to knit lace, trimming, etc. of desired patterns or design; (k) examining looms to determine causes of loom stoppage, such as warp filling, harness breaks or mechanical defects; (l) repairing or replacing worn or defective needles and other components; (m) cleaning, oiling and lubricating machines, using air hoses, cleaning solutions, rags, oil cans and/or grease guns. Examples of the occupations classified here: - Carpet weaving machine operator - Knitting machine operator - Net production machine operator - Weaving machine operator Some related occupations classified elsewhere: - Carpet weaver - 7318 - Cloth weaver - 7318 - Knitter - 7318

None of this job's tasks scored high enough to count. It ranks 87 of 427 for holding up against AI.

Also known as

textile machine operator
knitting machine operator
weaving machine operator

Job titles from the EU's ESCO list. Search for any of them on the jobs page and you'll end up here.

83.5

Holds up
against AI Not Exposed

AI could take on 16.5 of 100, on average
so it holds up at 100 − 16.5 = 83.5

That's the whole sum, and you can check it against the ILO's study.

60.6

How hands-on
out of 100

From O*NET, matched to one US job

37.1

How fiddly
and cramped

finger skill 50 · hand skill 44.6 · cramped spaces 16.8 · averaged

Kind of hands-on work · hands-on 50+ · fiddly under 39.4 Hands-on, less fiddly work

Less fine handwork and fewer cramped spaces than a typical hands-on job. That clears one hurdle for machines. It doesn't mean machines are doing this work yet.

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

This number is probably too high

This score only looks at AI tools like chatbots. It doesn't look at robots at all — and this job rates 60.6 out of 100 for how hands-on it is, which is exactly where robots come in.

Have a look at the tasks below and judge for yourself. The ILO scored them low because a chatbot can't do them. Whether a machine with hands could is a different question, and we can't answer it yet.

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 21.5, while the average is 16.5. 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.

21.5
Setting up and operating batteries of automatic, link-type knitting machines to knit garments of specified pattern and design

Very Low
20
Tending automatic looms that simultaneously weave pile yarn, filling yarn and warp yarn material to produce carpets and rugs with various coloured designs

Very Low
19.8
Examining looms to determine causes of loom stoppage, such as warp filling, harness breaks or mechanical defects

Very Low
17.8
Operating and monitoring large automatic multi-needle machines to embroider material or to sew lengths of several layers of material to make yard goods, quilts or mattress coverings

Very Low
16.5
Operating and monitoring loom on which yarn or twist is intersected and knotted at regular intervals to form mesh

Very Low
16.5
Tending circular knitting machines with automatic pattern controls that knit seamless hose

Very Low
16.5
Operating and monitoring knitting machines to knit hosiery to shape of foot and leg

Very Low
16.3
Operating and monitoring machine which seams openings in toes of socks

Very Low
16
Operating and monitoring machine for knitting heel and toes of socks into ribs or tops cut from circular fabric

Very Low
16
Operating and monitoring crochet machine to knit lace, trimming etc. of desired pattern or design

Very Low
13.3
Threading yarn, thread and fabric through guides, needles, and rollers of machines for weaving, knitting or other processing

Very Low
12.5
Repairing or replacing worn or defective needles and other components

Very Low
12
Cleaning, oiling, and lubricating machines, using air hoses, cleaning solutions, rags, oil cans, and/or grease guns.

Very Low

13 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.

One Australian job matches, but only partly: not everyone in it does this job. Treat the numbers as a rough guide.

AI helps you: 56
AI does it for you: 24

Helping wins by 32 points.

estimated Our Gen AI Transition (Gen AI Capacity Study) September 2025 detailed data release data 0.7-work-setting matched to Australian jobs 7117

Compared with similar jobs

There are 39 jobs in the “Plant and machine operators, and assemblers” group, averaging 80.1. This one is above that.