Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers: pay and what the work involves

Occupation 5441 · Skilled trades occupations

Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers

Glass and ceramics workers, form, shape, decorate, smooth and polish glassware, earthenware, refractory goods, clay bricks and other ceramic goods.

How people enter it

There are no formal academic entry requirements. Training is typically provided on-the-job. NVQs/ SVQs at levels 1, 2 and 3 are available in some areas.

What the work involves

uses hand tools and operates machinery to heat, bend, shape, press, drill and cut glass
makes artificial eyes, laminated glass sheets or blocks, glass fibre tissue, wool, filament and matting, marks optical lenses and assembles rimless spectacles
makes models and moulds from moulding clay and plaster for use in the making and casting of pottery and other ceramic goods
throws, casts and presses clay by hand or machine to form pottery, stoneware or refractory goods such as bricks, crucibles, ornaments, sanitary furnishings, saggars, cups, saucers, plates and roofing tiles
cuts and joins unfired stoneware pipes to form junctions and gullies, moulds sealing bands on clay pipes, prepares and joins porcelain or earthenware components and assists crucible makers and stone workers with their tasks
applies decorative designs and finishes to glassware, optical glass and ceramic goods by grinding, smoothing, polishing, cutting, etching, dipping, painting or transferring patterns or labels

Also called

Ceramic artist · Glass blower · Potter (ceramics mfr) · Pottery worker · Sprayer (ceramics mfr) · Stained glass artist

What it pays

Measure	Hours	Basis	Period	Value	Source
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	17,500.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	17,800.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	19,100.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	—	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) Not published: Estimate is less than 500
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	1,300.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	19,400.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	None	2026-03	—	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020) Not published: Estimate is less than 500

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Region	Measure	Hours	Value	Period
East	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	withheld	2026-03
East Midlands	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	1,000.00	2026-03
London	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	800.00	2026-03
North East	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	2,300.00	2026-03
North West	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	1,800.00	2026-03
Northern Ireland	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	withheld	2026-03
Scotland	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	1,300.00	2026-03
South East	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	5,300.00	2026-03
South West	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	3,300.00	2026-03
Wales	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	withheld	2026-03
West Midlands	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	1,400.00	2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber	5441 : Glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers	None	1,500.00	2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for glass and ceramics makers, decorators and finishers vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 9 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Florists · Furniture makers and other craft woodworkers · Other skilled trades n.e.c.