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Alabama Department of Labor

Labor Market Information Division
SOC: 51-6021 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials
Press or shape articles by hand or machine.
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Education: Some of these occupations may require a high school diploma or GED certificate.
OJT: Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few days to a few months of training. Usually, an experienced worker could show you how to do the job.
Tasks: Operate steam, hydraulic, or other pressing machines to remove wrinkles from garments and flatwork items, or to shape, form, or patch articles. Lower irons, rams, or pressing heads of machines into position over material to be pressed. Remove finished pieces from pressing machines and hang or stack them for cooling, or forward them for additional processing. Hang, fold, package, and tag finished articles for delivery to customers. Slide material back and forth over heated, metal, ball-shaped forms to smooth and press portions of garments that cannot be satisfactorily pressed with flat pressers or hand irons. Select appropriate pressing machines, based on garment properties such as heat tolerance. Push and pull irons over surfaces of articles to smooth or shape them. Finish pleated garments, determining sizes of pleats from evidence of old pleats or from work orders, using machine presses or hand irons. Straighten, smooth, or shape materials to prepare them for pressing. Finish pants, jackets, shirts, skirts and other dry-cleaned and laundered articles, using hand irons. Position materials such as cloth garments, felt, or straw on tables, dies, or feeding mechanisms of pressing machines, or on ironing boards or work tables. Spray water over fabric to soften fibers when not using steam irons. Moisten materials to soften and smooth them. Finish velvet garments by steaming them on bucks of hot-head presses or steam tables, and brushing pile (nap) with handbrushes. Finish fancy garments such as evening gowns and costumes, using hand irons to produce high quality finishes. Activate and adjust machine controls to regulate temperature and pressure of rollers, ironing shoes, or plates, according to specifications. Shrink, stretch, or block articles by hand to conform to original measurements, using forms, blocks, and steam. Clean and maintain pressing machines, using cleaning solutions and lubricants.
License: License not required.
Outlook: poor
Alabama Employment Outlook
Alabama Wage Data
Hourly Wage   Annual Wage
Entry $8.59   Entry $17,864.00
Mean $9.95   Mean $20,700.00
Experience $10.63 Experience $22,123.00

The data is based on the May 2017 Occupation Employment Survey employment and wage estimate file. The wages have been aged using the most current ECI factors reflecting wages as of June 2018.

Alabama Projections
Estimated Employment 2016Projected Employment 2026Annual Average OpeningsAnnual Growth Rate
74069085-.69
Related Occupations: Postsecondary Institutions With Programs:
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand
Food Batchmakers
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons
Packers and Packagers, Hand
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic
Print Binding and Finishing Workers
Slaughterers and Meat Packers
Textile Knitting and Weaving Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders
No postsecondary schools reported programs.
Occupational Videos
51-6021.00 Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials