Metal working production
and maintenance fitters and technicians
Metal working production and maintenance fitters and technicians erect, install and repair electrical and mechanical plant and industrial machinery, fit and assemble parts and sub-assemblies in the manufacture of metal products and test and adjust new motor vehicles and engines.
- Employees (UK)
- 223k
- Median annual pay
- £40,002
- Exposure score ?
- 0.7/10 Minimal 2.1/10 Low strict reading, with tools is 2.1/10 with-tools reading, strict is 0.7/10
- Wage exposure
- £624m £1.87bn
Higher exposure than 41% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A few tasks in this role are within reach of AI, mostly paperwork, scheduling and routine writing. The shape of the role stays the same, and some parts get faster.
If you are in this role
Pick the two or three most repetitive things in your week and try a model on them. Most people underestimate what Claude or ChatGPT already does with admin-shaped work. The time you get back is the gain.
Where the work usually starts.
This role's strict reading is low because its top tasks are judgement, not drafting. The three highest-stakes tasks below are still usually where the work starts. Switch to With tools to see what AI plus the right context can take on.
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Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.
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Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.
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Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.
For this role the labels do not surface obvious candidates, so the work would start with the highest-stakes tasks below and find the AI angle in conversation.
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Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.
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Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.
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Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Millwrights" (49-9044.00).
What AI can already do
0 of 23 tasks, unaided
No tasks here are labelled as something an LLM can do unaided. Switch to 'With tools' above to see what changes when AI is paired with the right context.
What still needs a person
23 of 23 tasks
Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.
Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.
Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.
Signal crane operator to lower basic assembly units to bedplate, and align unit to centerline.
Conduct preventative maintenance and repair, and lubricate machines and equipment.
Assemble and install equipment, using hand tools and power tools.
Assemble machines, and bolt, weld, rivet, or otherwise fasten them to foundation or other structures, using hand tools and power tools.
Move machinery and equipment, using hoists, dollies, rollers, and trucks.
Level bedplate and establish centerline, using straightedge, levels, and transit.
Dismantle machines, using hammers, wrenches, crowbars, and other hand tools.
Bolt parts, such as side and deck plates, jaw plates, and journals, to basic assembly unit.
Lay out mounting holes, using measuring instruments, and drill holes with power drill.
Attach moving parts and subassemblies to basic assembly unit, using hand tools and power tools.
Weld, repair, and fabricate equipment or machinery.
Shrink-fit bushings, sleeves, rings, liners, gears, and wheels to specified items, using portable gas heating equipment.
Troubleshoot equipment, electrical components, hydraulics, or other mechanical systems.
Dismantle machinery and equipment for shipment to installation site, performing installation and maintenance work as part of team.
Connect power unit to machines or steam piping to equipment, and test unit to evaluate its mechanical operation.
Position steel beams to support bedplates of machines and equipment, using blueprints and schematic drawings to determine work procedures.
Fabricate and dismantle parts, equipment, and machines, using a cutting torch or other cutting equipment.
Install robot and modify its program, using teach pendant.
Construct foundation for machines, using hand tools and building materials such as wood, cement, and steel.
Operate engine lathe to grind, file, and turn machine parts to dimensional specifications.
Tasks via O*NET "Millwrights" (49-9044.00).
What AI can already do
1 of 23 tasks, with tools
Install robot and modify its program, using teach pendant.
What still needs a person
22 of 23 tasks
Replace defective parts of machine, or adjust clearances and alignment of moving parts.
Align machines or equipment, using hoists, jacks, hand tools, squares, rules, micrometers, lasers, or plumb bobs.
Insert shims, adjust tension on nuts and bolts, or position parts, using hand tools and measuring instruments, to set specified clearances between moving and stationary parts.
Signal crane operator to lower basic assembly units to bedplate, and align unit to centerline.
Conduct preventative maintenance and repair, and lubricate machines and equipment.
Assemble and install equipment, using hand tools and power tools.
Assemble machines, and bolt, weld, rivet, or otherwise fasten them to foundation or other structures, using hand tools and power tools.
Move machinery and equipment, using hoists, dollies, rollers, and trucks.
Level bedplate and establish centerline, using straightedge, levels, and transit.
Dismantle machines, using hammers, wrenches, crowbars, and other hand tools.
Bolt parts, such as side and deck plates, jaw plates, and journals, to basic assembly unit.
Lay out mounting holes, using measuring instruments, and drill holes with power drill.
Attach moving parts and subassemblies to basic assembly unit, using hand tools and power tools.
Weld, repair, and fabricate equipment or machinery.
Shrink-fit bushings, sleeves, rings, liners, gears, and wheels to specified items, using portable gas heating equipment.
Troubleshoot equipment, electrical components, hydraulics, or other mechanical systems.
Dismantle machinery and equipment for shipment to installation site, performing installation and maintenance work as part of team.
Connect power unit to machines or steam piping to equipment, and test unit to evaluate its mechanical operation.
Position steel beams to support bedplates of machines and equipment, using blueprints and schematic drawings to determine work procedures.
Fabricate and dismantle parts, equipment, and machines, using a cutting torch or other cutting equipment.
Construct foundation for machines, using hand tools and building materials such as wood, cement, and steel.
Operate engine lathe to grind, file, and turn machine parts to dimensional specifications.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Skilled trades occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons