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- Work in a foundry in one or more specialist roles to create metal parts for industry
- Can be physical work in a hot and dusty environment
- You'll work as part of a team and can progress into supervisory or other skilled roles
As a foundry process operator, your job will involve manufacturing metal castings and parts that are used in industry.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Controlling the furnaces that melt metal
- Putting together wax patterns used in castings
- Transferring molten metal from the furnace to moulds
- Operating die casting machines
- Grinding surplus metal off castings with abrasive wheels
- Using shot blasting machinery to clean castings
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work on a shift system, including nights and weekends. You could work overtime.
Conditions can be hot and dusty. You'll wear protective overalls, a hard hat, safety footwear, ear-plugs and goggles.
You'll need
To be a foundry process operator, you'll need the ability to work well with your hands, knowledge of manufacturing production and processes, thoroughness and attention to detail, the ability to work well with others, good initiative, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, good concentration, and the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools.
With direct application, experience in engineering, factory production or metal fabrication could give you an advantage.
You could take a college course in engineering, which may help when you start looking for work. Courses include Engineering, and Engineering and Manufacturing. You could also get into this job through an engineering operative intermediate apprenticeship, or a metal casting and foundry technician advanced apprenticeship.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could progress to supervisory jobs or into more skilled foundry work, like pattern making, moulding, or core-making. With further training, you could move into to other areas of engineering, like welding, metal fabrication or industrial blacksmithing.