Sheet Metal Worker

OFO Code: 651301

Last checked 7 October 2026

PATHLENS

1. Occupation identity

OFO code: 651301
Occupation: Sheet Metal Worker
Classification: OFO 2021
Major group: SKILLED AGRICULTURAL, FORESTRY, FISHERY, CRAFT AND RELATED TRADES WORKERS
Unit group: 6513 · Sheet Metal Workers

Official description
Sheet metal workers make, install and repair articles and parts of articles made out of sheet metal such as sheet steel, copper, tin, brass, aluminium, zinc or galvanised iron.

Trade occupation in the OFO source

More official OFO detail

Specialisations: Machine Riveter, Aircraft Body Maker, Aluminium / Stainless Steel Fabricator, Brassmith, Metal Spinner / Sheeter, Sheet Metal Marker / Installer, Tinsmith, Sheet Metal Plumber, Boilersmith, Coppersmith, Duct Erector

Inspecting product quality and installation to ensure conformance to specifications
Marking sheet metal for cutting and shaping
Converting blueprints into shop drawings to be followed in the construction and assembly of sheet metal products
Determining project requirements, including scope, assembly sequences, and required methods and materials, according to blueprints, drawings, and written or verbal instructions
Making and repairing household utensils and other articles in tin, copper and light alloys, or ornamental articles and fittings
Installing and repairing sheet-metal parts of vehicles and aircraft
Making and repairing boilers, tanks, vats and similar containers

2. Demand status

Demand evidence unavailable

No approved governed OIHD graph relationship is available on this deployment for this OFO code.

PathLens does not fall back to legacy specimen demand flags when governed evidence is unavailable.

A national demand signal is not a promise of a vacancy in your town.

3. Salary evidence

No approved governed salary observation or sourced snapshot salary record is available for this OFO code yet.

Open remuneration history & calculator →

4. Quick EE check

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5. Qualification

Qualification evidence pending.

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6. Study funding

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A funding match will only be shown once a recognised qualification or study route has been identified.

7. Industry, sector and provincial context

National occupation classification. Industry and provincial context are shown only where a separate official source supports the link.

No source-backed modern OFO↔SIC 7 industry link has been ingested for this occupation yet. PathLens does not infer one from the job title.

Browse the official South African industry classification →

8. Next steps — official links

Career explorationNCAP / KhethaOfficial destination ↗QualificationQCTOOfficial destination ↗Public employment serviceESSA / labour centreOfficial destination ↗

9. Decision tools

Compare this career → Plan qualification pathway → Test salary against household costs →

10. Sources for this page

DHET Organising Framework for Occupations (OFO 2021) · Ingested · identity spine active
Canonical OFO identity data has been ingested and validated. 1511 occupation records are recorded in the ingest artifact.
DHET Occupations in High Demand · Validated pipeline · graph publication not confirmed
The governed OIHD pipeline is active, but a successful populated graph run is not currently confirmed on this deployment.
Critical Skills List · Monitored · occupation linkage pending
Official migration sources are monitored, but PathLens does not infer visa eligibility or occupation-level eligibility from monitoring alone.
QCTO qualifications and occupational certificates · Candidate staging ready · not published
Qualification staging and human review are implemented; no qualification↔OFO relationship is published without an explicit source identifier or governed human review.
Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey · Acquisition active · no approved evidence on this deployment
Official QLFS artifact discovery is active. Dataset-specific schema, weighting, reliability and review gates remain separate; a discovered artifact or executable estimator does not itself create a public claim.
SETA Sector Skills Plans / hard-to-fill vacancy tables · Partial · explicit source links only
PathLens preserves explicit source-backed SETA/activity links where present and does not infer modern SIC relationships from occupation titles.