Field of Activity
Furriers are skilled workers capable of carrying out, unaided, appropriately and to fixed deadlines, all sorting, classifying, cutting, sewing and finishing duties involved in the manufacture and repair of fur and leather garments. Furriers use furs, hides, leather and combinations of these and with textiles to manufacture attractive and fashionable fur and leather garments. Furriers work in both craft and industrial enterprises. Depending on the size of the company, their activities may also include organizational duties such as purchasing furs at fur auctions, advising customers, selling, and the development of product ranges.
Furriers apply their own ideas in the design and manufacture of fur and leather garments and advance proposals for modernizing and repairing such garments. In so doing they are required to comply with regulations on the protection of species, fashion trends, and also functional and commercial considerations.
Furriers carry out their work unaided on the basis of technical documents, taking due account of quality assurance aspects. As a result of their initial training, furriers are competent in assuming responsibility for their own field of activity and for ensuring cooperation within the enterprise.
Occupational Skills
The following skills developed during training are applied in their regular work:
- selection and appraisal of furs and leathers with reference to intended purpose and economic efficiency and in compliance with regulations on the protection of species;
- selection of textile fabrics for combination products and trimmings with reference to processing and wear characteristics;
- design and development of working patterns;
- planning and preparation of the work steps;
- selection and arrangement of working materials and other inputs;
- preparation and treatment of working materials;
- cutting the materials and other inputs;
- application of various techniques for sewing and finishing workpieces;
- understanding of the correlations between design, manufacture and processing;
- setting-up, operation and monitoring of tools and machinery;
- assessment of product quality and initiation of quality assurance measures.
