Foundry Worker (Foundry Operative) CV Examples & Writing Guide
A foundry worker CV gets read when it names the metals you have poured, the moulding process the plant used, your output in moulds, cores or tonnes per shift, your scrap rate, and the safety training that lets a supervisor put you near molten metal on day one.
Foundry worker CV example (moulding, melting and pouring)
This sample is for a foundry worker with seven years in grey and ductile iron who has worked moulding, coremaking and the pouring floor. The name and employers are invented. If you work in aluminium, investment casting or die casting, keep the layout and change the process and metal vocabulary.
Ray Dombrowski
Foundry Operative / Moulder and Furnace Operator
Rotherham · 07700 900138 · ray.dombrowski.cast@email.com
Summary
Foundry worker with 7 years in grey and ductile iron, working green sand moulding, no-bake moulds and the pouring floor. Makes 95 to 120 moulds a shift on a jolt-squeeze line, runs a 1-tonne coreless induction furnace, and pours to temperature with a pyrometer. Scrap on moulds made held at 2.1% against a 4% plant target.
Experience
Moulder and Furnace Operator · Jobbing iron foundry, 36 tonnes of castings a week (grey and ductile)
Jun 2022–Present
- Makes 95 to 120 green sand moulds a shift on a jolt-squeeze line, setting cores, chaplets and chills to the pattern card and checking the running and feeding system before closing.
- Runs a 1-tonne coreless induction furnace: charging, slag removal, temperature to a 1,455 to 1,495 °C pouring range, and holding chemistry within spec on carbon and silicon after the spectrometer check.
- Pours with a 250 kg bottom-pour ladle and treats ductile iron with magnesium in the tundish, then inoculates in the stream.
- Held scrap on his own moulds at 2.1% against a 4% plant target by tightening ram density and vent placement, which saved an estimated 5.5 tonnes of remelt a year.
- Runs knockout, shot blast and fettling when the schedule needs it, and cuts off runners and feeders with a torch and cut-off saw.
- Trains new moulders on pattern set-up, sand testing and closing procedure; 5 people brought to production rate since 2023.
Coremaker and Sand Plant Operator · Ductile iron foundry serving agricultural and commercial vehicle markets
Sep 2019–May 2022
- Produced 250 to 400 cores a shift on cold box and shell core machines, including multi-piece assemblies glued and coated before setting.
- Ran the sand plant: mixer checks, moisture, compactability and green strength testing every two hours, with results logged and adjustments made before moulds went off spec.
- Cut core-related casting defects (veining and penetration) by about a third over a year by changing coating dilution and drying time.
- Kept the core shop to 5S standards and reduced core breakage in handling from 7% to 3% by rebuilding the racks and transfer trays.
Fettler (Grinding and Finishing) · Steel castings fettling shop
Mar 2018–Aug 2019
- Ground, cut and finished 80 to 140 steel castings a shift to drawing tolerance using pedestal grinders, swing-frame grinders and air tools.
- Carried out dye penetrant and magnetic particle checks on flagged castings and tagged rejects with the defect type for the metallurgist.
Education
GCSEs including English and maths, then two years of sixth form
Secondary school and sixth form, Rotherham, 2017
Industrial maintenance short course (hydraulics, pneumatics, basic electrical)
Further education college, South Yorkshire, 2021
Certifications
- IOSH Working Safely (2023)
- Overhead crane and slinger/signaller training, employer-assessed, current
- Counterbalance forklift (RTITB-accredited), current
- RPE face-fit test (tight-fitting respirator), current
- Emergency First Aid at Work, current
Skills
What a foundry supervisor checks first
Foundries are hot, heavy and hard to staff, and a bad hire near molten metal is a serious problem. Supervisors read for four things.
- Metal and process. Grey iron, ductile, steel, aluminium, brass and bronze all behave differently, and green sand, no-bake, shell, investment and gravity die (permanent mould) are separate skills. Name yours.
- Where you worked on the floor. Moulding, coremaking, melting, pouring, knockout, fettling, pattern shop, sand lab. Say which stations you can cover, because cover is what a supervisor buys.
- Output and quality. Moulds or cores per shift, tonnes poured, scrap rate, rework. If your plant tracked it, use it.
- Safety readiness. Crane and slinging, forklift, RPE face-fit test, molten metal PPE, silica dust awareness (COSHH, LEV), isolation and lock-off. This decides how fast you can be put to work.
“Tell me the metal, the process and your scrap number. If somebody writes "grey and ductile, green sand line, 110 moulds a shift, 2 per cent scrap, crane and forklift certified", they are on the phone that day. Foundry people are hard to find and easy to recognise on paper when they write plainly.”
Say which foundry you came from
"Foundry worker" covers a dozen different jobs. A supervisor cannot place you without knowing the process and the metal, so put both in the first line of each job entry.
- Process: green sand (hand or automatic line), no-bake and air-set chemically bonded sand, shell moulding, investment casting, gravity die (permanent mould), lost foam, centrifugal casting.
- Metal: grey iron, ductile iron, malleable, carbon and alloy steel, stainless, aluminium, brass and bronze. Include pouring temperature ranges in °C if you know them.
- Melting equipment: coreless or channel induction furnace, cupola, electric arc, reverberatory or crucible furnace, and the capacity in kilograms or tonnes.
- Moulding equipment: jolt-squeeze, automatic moulding lines, matchplate machines, floor and pit moulding for large work, and the moulding box sizes you handled.
- Core equipment: cold box, hot box, shell core machines, core assembly and coating.
- Finishing: knockout, shot blast or Wheelabrator, fettling and grinding, torch and arc-air cutting, heat treatment, machining allowance and drawing tolerances.
- Quality: spectrometer chemistry, carbon equivalent, pyrometer readings, Brinell hardness, dye penetrant, magnetic particle, radiography and the defect names you can recognise.
Foundry worker personal statement examples
Foundry worker with 7 years in grey and ductile iron. Makes 95 to 120 green sand moulds a shift on a jolt-squeeze line, runs a 1-tonne induction furnace and pours with a bottom-pour ladle. Scrap held at 2.1% against a 4% target. IOSH Working Safely, crane, slinging and forklift certified.
Coremaker with 5 years on cold box and shell core machines, producing 250 to 400 cores a shift including multi-piece assemblies. Runs the sand lab checks on moisture, compactability and green strength every two hours, and cut veining and penetration defects by a third in a year.
Furnace operator with 9 years in the melt shop of a steel foundry. Charges and runs a 3-tonne coreless induction furnace, takes and reads spectrometer samples, adjusts chemistry to spec and pours to temperature with a 700 kg ladle. No molten metal incidents in nine years.
Casting operator with 6 years in aluminium gravity die and low pressure work. Runs 4 die stations, controls degassing and metal temperature, and holds first-pass yield above 96% on automotive components. Trained on forklift and overhead crane.
Reliable worker seeking a foundry position. 2 years in a hot metal fabrication shop running grinders, cut-off saws and a plasma table on 10-hour shifts with full attendance. Comfortable with heat, noise, PPE and physical work. IOSH Working Safely, forklift certificate, own safety boots and glasses.
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Foundry job description bullets, rewritten
| Vague | Rewritten |
|---|---|
| Made moulds for metal casting. | Made 95 to 120 green sand moulds a shift on a jolt-squeeze line, setting cores, chaplets and chills to the pattern card and checking the running system before closing. |
| Operated furnace equipment. | Ran a 1-tonne coreless induction furnace: charging, slag removal, holding a 1,455 to 1,495 °C pouring range and adjusting chemistry after each spectrometer sample. |
| Poured molten metal into moulds. | Poured with a 250 kg bottom-pour ladle, treated ductile iron with magnesium in the tundish and inoculated in the stream, running 60 to 90 pours a shift. |
| Made cores. | Produced 250 to 400 cores a shift on cold box and shell machines, including glued multi-piece assemblies coated and dried before setting. |
| Checked sand quality. | Tested moisture, compactability and green strength every two hours, logged the results, and adjusted the mixer before moulds ran out of spec. |
| Reduced defects. | Cut personal mould scrap from 4.5% to 2.1% by tightening ram density and vent placement, saving an estimated 5.5 tonnes of remelt a year. |
| Cleaned and finished castings. | Ran knockout, shot blast, pedestal and swing-frame grinders and torch cutting, fettling 80 to 140 castings a shift to drawing tolerance. |
| Followed safety rules. | Worked the pouring floor in full aluminised PPE with crane and slinging training and a current RPE face-fit test, with no molten metal incidents in seven years. |
Foundry skills for a CV
- Moulding: green sand, no-bake, shell, floor and pit moulding, pattern set-up, running and feeding systems, moulding box handling
- Coremaking: cold box, hot box, shell, core assembly, coating and drying
- Melting and pouring: furnace charging and operation, slag control, temperature control with pyrometer, ladle handling, treatment and inoculation
- Sand plant: mixer operation, moisture, compactability, green strength and permeability testing, additions
- Finishing: knockout, shot blast, fettling and grinding, torch and arc-air cutting, weld repair if you do it
- Quality: casting defect recognition, dye penetrant and magnetic particle checks, hardness testing, reading drawings and pattern cards
- Support: overhead crane and slinging, forklift, basic hydraulics and pneumatics, planned maintenance
- Safety: molten metal PPE, silica dust control (COSHH, LEV), RPE use, isolation and lock-off, heat stress management, hearing protection
The plain qualities that matter here are stamina and attention when tired. A foundry can be close to 40 °C at the line in July, and the last pour of the shift is where people get hurt. Show it with attendance and injury-free years rather than adjectives.
No foundry experience yet
Most foundries train from the ground up because almost nobody arrives trained. They will start you on knockout, fettling or the sand plant. What they screen for is whether you can handle heat and weight and whether you will still be there in three months.
- Lead with hot, heavy or dirty work: welding, fabrication, commercial kitchens, roofing, landscaping, concrete, warehouse, farm work, Armed Forces vehicle mechanics.
- Give attendance evidence. Missed days is the reason most new foundry starters do not last.
- Get IOSH Working Safely and a forklift certificate before applying. Both are short courses and both remove an objection.
- Say you understand the conditions: 35 to 45 °C at the line, respirator and face shield, 10 or 12 hour shifts, rotating or night shifts.
- Mention any machine or tool experience: grinders, saws, torches, cranes, hoists, air tools.
- If you have a welding or machining background, say so. Foundries value people who can move into repair and finishing work quickly.
Format, length and words to mirror
- One page, two at most. Plain layout, no columns, no graphics.
- Put the metal and process on the first line of each job so the reader can place you immediately.
- Group your tickets in a Qualifications and Training block: IOSH, crane and slinging, forklift, RPE face-fit test.
- Mirror the advert's words: moulder, coremaker, melt shop, pour, knockout, fettling, sand plant, casting defects, ductile, grey iron, induction, cupola.
- No photo, no date of birth. In the UK the same work is often advertised as foundry operative, moulder or caster, so use the title from the advert in your headline.
- Say your shift availability. Foundries run nights and weekends, and willingness to rotate is a hiring factor.
Frequently asked questions
How do I write a foundry worker CV?
Name the metals and moulding process in the first line, then your output per shift and your scrap rate. Give each job 3 to 6 bullets with numbers: moulds, cores, tonnes poured, castings finished. Add a qualifications block with IOSH, crane, slinging, forklift and RPE face-fit test. Keep it to one page if you can.
What is a foundry worker's job description?
Depending on the station: preparing and making moulds and cores, setting cores and closing moulds, charging and operating melting furnaces, handling ladles and pouring molten metal, knocking out castings, shot blasting, fettling and cutting off runners and feeders, and inspecting for defects.
What skills should be on a foundry CV?
The moulding process you know, coremaking, furnace operation and pouring, sand testing, running and feeding systems, casting defect recognition, finishing with grinders and torches, and support skills such as overhead crane, slinging and forklift. Add molten metal PPE and silica dust control on the safety side.
Do I need a qualification to work in a foundry?
No licence is required in the UK. What helps is IOSH Working Safely, a forklift certificate from an accredited course, overhead crane and slinger/signaller training, and a current RPE face-fit test. Employers provide most of this, but arriving with it gets you working sooner.
How do I get a foundry job with no experience?
Apply for knockout, fettling or general operative roles and build the page around hot and heavy work history plus attendance. Do IOSH Working Safely and a forklift course first, and say plainly that you understand the heat, the PPE and the shift length. Foundries train moulding and pouring in-house.
What numbers work best on a foundry worker CV?
Moulds or cores per shift, tonnes poured, castings finished per shift, scrap and rework percentage against the plant target, remelt saved, defect reduction, downtime and years without a lost-time injury.
Ready to write yours?
The builder suggests a summary from your own experience, then checks it against the job posting.
How this page was made: a first draft was written with AI assistance from cvplex's example library, then edited and fact-checked by the cvplex Careers Team. Examples are fictional composites; numbers are illustrative. Report an error via the editorial policy page.