Occupational Profiles

This group performs some or all of the following duties:
 

• Discuss upholstery fabric, colour, and style with customers and provide cost estimate for upholstering furniture or other items
• Lay out, measure and cut upholstery materials according to sketches or design specifications
• Replace worn-out webbing, springs and other furniture parts using hand and power tools
• Operate sewing machines or sew upholstery materials by hand to seam cushions and join sections of covering materials
• Install padding and underlays and fasten covering materials to furniture frames
• Tack, glue or sew ornamental trim, braids or buttons on upholstered items
• Lay out, cut, fabricate and install upholstery in aircrafts, motor vehicles, railway cars, boats and ships
• May repair furniture frames and refinish wood surfaces
• May make upholstery patterns from sketches, customer descriptions or blueprints
• May install, fabricate, maintain and repair interior components of aircraft, such as seats, coverings, drapes, cargo nets, flooring, closets, bins and panels.

• Completion of secondary school is usually required.
• Completion of college or other specialized courses or an apprenticeship program in furniture upholstering and repair or Several years of on-the-job training, including working as an upholsterer helper are usually required.
• Trade certification is available, but voluntary, in Quebec.