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Knowledge, skills and attributes

Wool Classers need to be:

• physically fit

• good with their hands

• have normal eyesight (may be corrected)

• possess good communication skills

• willing to travel

• able to work as part of a team

(Source: ABC)

 

Duties and Tasks

Generally Wool Classers can: 

• grade wool according to length, colour, evenness, burr content, strength, quality, fibre thickness, breed and colour

• places sorted wool into appropriate bins

• oversee the preparation of wool for sale and ensure it meets industry agreed standards

• advise on sheep classing and selection

• supervise workers involved in wool handling

• oversee the pressing, weighing and branding of wool bales by the wool pressers

• operates wool-weighing, sampling and wool-blending machinery

• keeps records of the wool bales pressed

• ensure accurate records are kept on wool qualities and advise on laboratory test results

• carries out minor maintenance on wool-weighing, sampling and wool-blending machines

• work with wool brokers and advisory institutions

• implement quality management systems

• may be responsible for wool shed management.

(Source: Wool)

 

Working conditions

Most classers work throughout Australia - in particular, in the agricultural regions. Most are males but there is nothing to stop interested females entering this field. You can look forward to the prospect of being on your feet for most of the day and having to regularly lift large amounts of wool or skin. Wool Classers are pretty much on the go throughout the day.

 

Tools and Technologies

Sirolan Fleecescan is a laser based product that will test and classify up to 100 fleeces an hour. A COP (Cost of Production) Calculator may also be used to track quality and cost of wool production over a number of years. In general, however, a Wool Classer will rely on their experience and sense of sight and touch to determine wool strength, wool crimp and colour and the overall quality of each fleece.

Education and training/entrance requirements

To become a wool classer you usually need to complete a traineeship. The Australian wool classer traineeship usually takes nine months to complete.

 

 

 

 

The wool roller is critical to the final quality of the wool clip. "Skirting fleece" removes inferior wool, and then rolling the fleece ready for wool classing. Once you know the fleece areas and are doing a quality job on the table, the required speed to keep up with the rate of wool flow will
come easily. Different skirting procedures will be used for preparing superfine clips. These requirements will be determined by the woolclasser.

 

ANZSCO ID: 841517

Alternative names: Woolroller, Skirter, Board person

Knowledge, skills and attributes

• Learn the pattern of the fleece so you know exactly what you are looking for.

Did You Know? Skirting Your Wool Fleece ( Skirting is the process of removing “junk” wool, stains, second cuts and vegetable matter (VM) from the wool fleece prior to processing it ~~ or offering it for sale. The skirting process is usually done by the shepherd after the fleece is shorn and requires a special skirting table with an open mesh top. The table must be large enough to lay the entire fleece out flat – cut side down, tips up and the head and tail ends identified. A skirting table may be made simply by the handy-man (many plans are available) OR purchased ready-made. The first step is to work around the fleece giving each part a light shaking. This allows most of any second cuts to fall through the mesh. ‘Second cuts’ are a fault in hand-spinning fleeces and, unless removed from the fleece, they will cause neps in carded wool. They’re caused by the shearer making a second pass over the sheep during shearing to give the shorn animal a neater appearance. The next step is to actually skirt the fleece: Pick a starting point, such as the tail, and work all the way around the fleece removing from 2 to 4 inches of wool all the way around – exactly how light or heavy of skirting is needed depends entirely on the cleanliness and quality of the fleece. Remove any tags (dung or stained wool) at the tail, skirt away the lower leg wool and evaluate the britch (upper leg) wool for kemp (hair fibers) and skirt those off. Then, skirt away any belly wool if the shearer has not tossed this aside when shearing – some shearers will do this, some won’t. Next, skirt away the front leg wool and the head wool. Then work down the other side the same way, back to the tail. Now, look at the fleece. Are there any stains? If so, skirt away those areas. Look for areas with a lot of VM and skirt those areas away too. Finally, check the fleece for tippiness and for wool breaks. Tippiness is caused mainly by weathering and is most likely to occur along the spine. Pull a small lock no thicker than a pencil and hold it by the butt (cut) end. Grasp the tip between the nails of your thumb and index fingers and give it a little tug. If the tip broke off, then the fleece is tippy. Skirt the tippy area away – the tips will break off when the fleece is carded and form neps in the carded preparation. Wool breaks are also easy to detect. Look at a lock of the fleece – is there an area in the staple length that looks thinner? Take a small lock of fleece and firmly grasp it by the cut end with one hand and the tip end in the other. Give it a tug. Does it come apart? To confirm that there is a break, take a thin lock, maybe half the diameter of a pencil, grasp it in both hands, hold it up to your ear and pull. Do you hear crackling or ripping sound? If so, that’s a wool break. This would not be a good, sound fleece. (Source: Sheepy Hollow) AWI Wool Handling - Wool Preparation - Efficient Skirting https://youtu.be/LLe0F5C2epw?si=b-5z7t8xKyKroZvH

 

Duties and Tasks

• Pick up the fleece after it has been removed from the sheep and throw it onto a large table for 'skirting' (process to remove stained or coloured pieces and skin from the wool)

• Remove inferior and stained wool from fleeces as directed by a wool classer

• Remove fribs and sweats and place in appropriate bins

• Remove short crutch wool and wiggings and place with locks

• Remove wool carrying vegetable matter under wool classer supervision

• Skirt around the fleece using the thumb, index finger and middle finger.

• Fold over the edge being skirted as it is finished. This identifies where the fleece has been skirted and turning the edge in allows the wool roller on the opposite side of the table to check for any fribs that may have been missed.

• Roll fleece according to wool classer’s direction. The fleece will usually be rolled form the breech to the neck end, with the aim of presenting the shoulder consistently to the woolclasser.

• Check for skin pieces while rolling. Apply the same method for removing brands to removing skin pieces. Grab a hold of the skin piece, twist it and pull out ensuring that you are only grabbing skin.

• Grade wool that has been skirted off fleeces

• Roll the fleece into bundles and pass it to a wool classer for classing

• Seek feedback on accuracy of skirting and fleece to skirtings ratio

Working conditions

 

Wool Room

 

Sufficient space is required in the wool room to enable the wool fleece to be safely and effectively skirted and classed. There is a risk of a range of injuries due to collision with fellow workers and contact with shed machinery - influenced by the amount of space available. In addition, working on small wool tables which are not designed for the size of fleeces can result in back strain. Uneven floor surfaces increases the risk of trips, slips and falls, while sharp edges and protrusions used to support wool packs or wool bins, pose a risk of cuts and puncture wounds to those working in this area.

Modifications to improve the safety of the wool room may include:  • Ensure that wool tables are large enough for the fleece and have enough room for wool rollers to work around the table without contact with shed machinery or other workers. • Ensure that the height of wool tables is appropriate for workers. • Slope the wool table toward the shearing board to facilitate ease and accuracy of throwing. • Remove protrusions on wool bins or cover with protective material. • Prior to each shearing, all boards should be inspected with worn and / or loose boards repaired. • Ensure there are enough shed hands to cope with the workload (Source: Australian Centre for Agricultural Health & Safety, June 2016)

 

The Wool Roller has to remove the sweat locks and other processing faults present from the outer section of fleece under instruction from the woolclasser eg. stained, unusable, or undesirable portions of a fleece.

 

Along with the physical side of the wool room itself, there are other things that the wool roller has to be mindful of including:

• Dags - Broken or dung-covered wool and other wastes that are swept from the floor of shearing areas

• Fribs – Greasy pieces of wool found on the outer edge of the fleece

• Vegetable matter (VM) – Any material of plant origin found in the fleece, such as burrs, stickers, chaff and seed heads

• Lanolin – Wool grease; this substance is a secretion from the sebaceous glands of the sheep skin

 

You would need to be very careful of your hand hygiene!

Education and training/entrance requirements

No education requirements however you will need to get practice in wool rolling during your time as a Rousie and under the guidance of the wool classer.

Wool Harvesting Training - Shearing (Skirting is later in video)
https://youtu.be/3xD57rp2sqA?si=4eLq58YXglrsVkNE

 

 

 

 

 

 

Related Jobs or Working with these Jobs
(Jobs not linked are currently being worked on)

 

Livestock Farmer

Pastoralist

Shearer Wool Presser Shearing Shed Hand

 

Job Cluster: Wool

 

Materials sourced from
Jobs & Skills WA [Wool Classer];
Wool [Four Pillars of Wool Handling - PDF (Local Copy); ]
Shearing Contractors' Association of Australia [Wool Harvesting Jobs; ]
Training.gov.au [Perform board duties; ]
Sheepy Hollow [Skirting the Fleece; ]
Tas Wool Centre [Glossary of Terms; ]
Your Career [Wool Classer; ]