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Sole and heel operator jobs in Finland

Sole and heel operators attach soles or heels to the footwear by stitching, cementing or nailing. They may work with several machines, for example for slipping the lasts, or for roughing, dusting or attaching heels. They also operate various machines both for stitched or cemented constructions.

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Sole and heel operator – how much is the pay in Finland?

What the trade paid in 2024

Hourly earnings in Finland 2024 — occupation group 8156 Shoemaking and related machine operators, Statistics Finland table 15az, CC BY 4.0.
Median14.85 €/h
Bottom tenth11.34 €/h
Top tenth19.29 €/h
Employees690

Pay by sex, 2024

Median hourly earnings by sex in Finland 2024 — occupation group 8156 Shoemaking and related machine operators, Statistics Finland table 15az, CC BY 4.0.
SexMedianEmployees
Women13.83 €/h379
Men16.23 €/h311

Sole and heel operator - Which skills are essential?

The equipment and techniques used for the preparation of bottom components in the footwear industry, including soles, heels, insoles, etc.

Technology, equipment, machines and tools for lasting and soling in case of cemented footwear constructions.

Split, scour surfaces, reduce sole edges, rough, brush, apply primings, halogenate the soles, degrease etc. Use both manual dexterity and machinery. When using machines, adjust their working parameters.

Functionality of the wide range of equipments and the basic rules of regular maintenance.

Be able to pull the uppers over the last and fix the lasting allowance on insole, manually or by special machines for forepart lasting, waist lasting, and seat lasting. Apart from the main group of lasting operations, the responsibilities of those assembling footwear cemented types may include the following: bottom cementing and sole cementing, heat setting, sole attaching and pressing, chilling, brushing and polishing, last slipping (before or after finishing operations) and heel attaching etc.

The characteristics, components, advantages and limitations of a wide range of materials used in footwear production: leather, leather substitutes (synthetics or artificial materials), textile, plastic, rubber etc. 

Tthe functionality of the wide range of machines, and the basic rules of regular maintenance.

Footwear processes technology and machinery involved. The footwear manufacturing starts in the cutting/clicking room , cutting the uppers and bottom components. The upper components are joined together in the closing room by following a precise order of specific operations: skiving, folding, sewing etc. The closed upper, the insole and other bottom components are brought together in the assembling room, where the main operations are lasting and soling. The process ends with finishing operations in the finishing and packing room.

Quality specifications of materials, processes and final products, the most common defects in footwear, quick tests procedures, laboratory tests procedures and standards, adequate equipment for quality checks. Quality assurance of footwear production processes and fundamental concepts on quality including footwear quality framework and standards.

Footwear components both for uppers (vamps, quarters, linings, stiffeners, toe puffs etc.) and bottoms (soles, heels, insoles etc.). Ecological concerns and the importance of recycling. Selection of suitable materials and components based on their influence on the footwear style and characteristics, properties and manufacturability. Procedures and methods in chemical and mechanical processing of leather and non-leather materials.

Sole and heel operator - Which skills are useful but not essential?

Technology, equipment, machines and tools for assembling california footwear construction type.

Technology, equipment, machines and tools for assembling Goodyear footwear construction types.

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Sources

Wage data: Statistics Finland, wage structure statistics, table 15az, year 2024. Read 2.10.2026. Licence CC BY 4.0.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

How we calculated these figures