3 Key Attributes Sewing Machine Operators Need To Succeed In Their Career

by Alex Garcia

Friday, August 7, 2015

Sewing machine operators operate or tend sewing machines to join, reinforce, decorate, or perform related sewing operations in the manufacture of garment or nongarment products.

The core tasks that sewing machine operators are likely to carry out include:

Monitor machine operation to detect problems such as defective stitching, breaks in thread, or machine malfunctions.
Place spools of thread, cord, or other materials on spindles, insert bobbins, and thread ends through machine guides and components.
Position items under needles, using marks on machines, clamps, templates, or cloth as guides.
Match cloth pieces in correct sequences prior to sewing them, and verify that dye lots and patterns match.
Guide garments or garment parts under machine needles and presser feet to sew parts together.
Start and operate or tend machines, such as single or double needle serging and flat-bed felling machines, to automatically join, reinforce, or decorate material or articles.

In order to successfully forge ahead with their careers, analysts in a survey carried out by U.S. Department of Labor (via O*NET) have marked out the following as important attributes that sewing machine operators would need. These attributes have been selected from characteristics and requirements strongly associated with the occupation. They are

Abilities: Enduring attributes of the individual that influence performance
Interests: Preferences for work environments. Occupational Interest Profiles (OIPs) are compatible with Holland's (1985, 1997) model of personality types and work environments. Six interest categories are used to describe the work environment of occupations: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. An OIP consists of six numerical scores indicating how descriptive and characteristic each work environment (or interest area) is for an occupation
Knowledge: Organized sets of principles and facts applying in general domains
Skills: These include basic skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate learning or the more rapid acquisition of knowledge. Plus cross-functional skills, which are developed capacities that facilitate performance of activities that occur across jobs
Style: Personal characteristics that can affect how well someone performs a job

We have listed out attributes which were scored 80% or more in terms of importance by the analysts.

Having a strong preference for realistic work environments. Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Attribute Type: Interests Score: 95.29%

Being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 86.2%

Being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Attribute Type: Style Score: 83.8%