Personal Care Services Workers

How to become an Aged Care Worker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 养老护理员

Also called: Dementia Care Worker

Gives older people daily care and support.

Main tasks

Helping older people with eating, washing, sleeping and going to the toilet
Taking safety measures to prevent accidents
Giving medication, observing, disinfecting and applying hot and cold packs, and keeping records
Helping in emergencies, caring for older people with common or serious illnesses and giving end of life care
Giving health education and rehabilitation care

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Smart Health and Elderly Care Services and Management (590302). Vocational major 590302 Smart Health and Elderly Care Services and Management (智慧健康养老服务与管理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Elderly Care; Dementia Care for Older People; Medical and Elderly Care Case Management; Elderly Fitness and Wellness Guidance; Elderly Care Needs Assessment.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Smart Health and Elderly Care Services (790302). Vocational major 790302 Smart Health and Elderly Care Services (智慧健康养老服务), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Elderly Care; Dementia Care for Older People; Elderly Fitness and Wellness Guidance.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Traditional Chinese Medicine Nursing (720402). Vocational major 720402 Traditional Chinese Medicine Nursing (中医护理), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Nurse Licence; Elderly Care; Dementia Care for Older People; Medical and Elderly Care Case Management.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Smart Health and Elderly Care Management (390302). Vocational major 390302 Smart Health and Elderly Care Management (智慧健康养老管理), 4 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向). Example certificates: Elderly Care; Medical and Elderly Care Case Management; Elderly Care Needs Assessment.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥49,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥36,000 to CN¥65,000. One in ten earn less than CN¥28,500 and one in ten more than CN¥89,500.
This is the figure for the mid group Residential Services Workers, not for this job alone.
National figure: wage prices of enterprise employees from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS) enterprise pay survey. The public sector and the self-employed are not covered.
Guangzhou only: median CN¥60,120 a year (2025), middle half CN¥47,916 to CN¥69,221.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Residential Services Workers holds 1.98% of everyone employed in China; 69.4% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
38% are under 35, 48.2% are 35 to 54 and 13.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 40 to 44.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Aged Care Worker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Smart Health and Elderly Care Services and Management (590302); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Smart Health and Elderly Care Services (790302).

How much does an Aged Care Worker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥49,000 a year (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS), 2025). The public sector and the self-employed are not covered. It is the figure for the mid group Residential Services Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥60,120 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Aged Care Worker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS): 2025 enterprise pay survey information: wage prices of enterprise employees by occupation mid group, and digital occupations (P10 to P90 annual CNY) (2025 (published 2026-07-08)), retrieved 5 October 2026
Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau: Guangzhou 2025 labour market wage prices (P10 to P90 annual CNY by occupation) (2025 (enterprise pay survey)), retrieved 4 October 2026
National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.

Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.

Updated 5 October 2026