Foundry workers

Overview

Foundry workers make foundry moulds and cores by hand or machine, cast molten metal, and operate furnaces in the foundry industry. They are employed by metal foundries and foundry departments of metal products manufacturing companies.

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

  • Mouldmakers and coremakers

  • Make and repair sand moulds using patterns, moulding boxes, sand and hand tools following bench, floor or pit moulding methods

  • Operate ovens to dry moulds

  • Make cores for use inside moulds to form holes or void spaces in castings using core boxes, sand, hammer and wire or other reinforcing material

  • Coat cores with protective materials and bake cores in oven

  • Set up, adjust and operate various mouldmaking and coremaking machines to make sand and ceramics moulds and cores

  • May pour molten metal into moulds to produce metal castings.

  • Metal casters

  • Set up and operate various casting machines to cast ferrous and non-ferrous metal products; hand ladle and pour molten metal into moulds to produce castings.

  • Foundry furnace operators

  • Operate furnaces used to melt metals for moulding and casting.

Job titles

  • ammunition caster - foundry
  • apprentice moulder - foundry
  • automatic casting machine operator - foundry
  • automatic moulding machine operator - foundry
  • bench coremaker - foundry
  • bench moulder - foundry

Employment prospects

Source: BC Labour Market Outlook 2024 edition

Annual salary

Low

-

Median

$74,500

High

-

Job openings

Use this interactive map to explore job openings in different regions across B.C.

British Columbia

28

expected job openings (5-year forecast)

Education and training

Employment requirements

  • Completion of secondary school is required.

  • Several weeks of on-the-job training are required.

Additional information

  • There is some mobility between workers in this unit group.

  • Progression to supervisory positions is possible with experience.

Certification requirements

  • No certification requirements

Post-secondary programs in B.C.

No post-secondary education required

No post-secondary education required. You can work in this career without post-secondary education. Some on the job training may be provided. With additional training or experience, you may be able to progress into higher level, supervisory or management positions.

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