Career Overlap Occupation record
RecordJob

Where a blacksmith can go next

5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a blacksmith already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.

Blacksmiths heat metal, usually steel, in a forge and shape it with a hammer, chisel, and an anvil. Contemporarily, they predominantly create artisanal metal products, including ornamental work, as well as horse shoes, one of the sole metal fabricating processes that has not been industrialised.

Also known as foundry patternmaker technician, patternmaking operator, sheet metal technician, artisan blacksmith, forgeworker, sheet metal apprentice, forge worker, heritage blacksmith, foundry moulding operator, patternmaking technician, craft blacksmith, horseshoe maker.

Craft and related trades workers 48 skills on file 5 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: coppersmith, 60%

Fig. 2 · Career map 5 nearest · ESCO v1.2.1
coppersmith 60% covered ornamental metal worker 53% covered solderer 37% covered brazier 37% covered coking furnace operator 35% covered blacksmith You are here
  • 70% and above · short step
  • 50 to 70% · real move
  • Below 50% · substantial retraining
The 5 nearest destinations from blacksmith, each one a link to that move’s record. Distance from the centre is how much retraining the move takes; the figure on each is how much of that role a blacksmith already covers. All 5 are listed in the tables below.
Table 1

Table 1 · Within reach

Table 2

Table 2 · A bigger jump

Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.

Table 3

Table 3 · What the job itself asks for

A blacksmith needs 19 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.

Required skill Area
  • work with blacksmithing power tools working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • measure metal to be heated information skills
  • prevent damage in a furnace assisting and caring
  • shape metal over anvils handling and moving
  • work with blacksmithing hand tools handling and moving
  • operate metal heating equipment working with machinery and specialised equipment
  • apply smithing techniques handling and moving
  • hot forging engineering, manufacturing and construction
  • select filler metal constructing
  • load materials into furnace handling and moving
Table 4

Table 4 · Jobs that lead here

The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a blacksmith does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.

Index

Look up another occupation

Blacksmith is filed under Craft and related trades workers, ISCO major group 7. The full index lists all ten groups.

Note

How these figures were compiled

Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a blacksmith’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.