Optional · 1 of 3

Skills that raise your rate

• Mould making

  Plastic injection moulds for car interiors, packaging and medical parts. Often a second ticket, and Windsor is the centre of it.

• CAD and CAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing)

  Designing the tool as well as building it. The step toward engineering-type pay.

• CNC (computer numerical control) and wire EDM (electrical discharge machining)

  Cutting hardened steel with a wire and a spark. Toolmakers who run these are hard to find.

• Die tryout and troubleshooting

  Making a new die actually produce good parts at the press. Senior work, senior pay.