Aerospace Products Assembly and Testing Workers

How to become an Aircraft Assembler

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 飞机装配工

Also called: Aircraft Lead and Zinc Die Maker, Aircraft Jig Assembler, Aircraft Riveter, Aircraft Join Measurement Technician, Aircraft Cable Panel Maker and Aircraft Pipe Fitter, Aircraft Sheet Metal Worker, Aircraft Loft Template Transfer Worker, Aircraft Skin Drop Hammer Worker, Aircraft Loft Template Fitter, Aircraft Chemical Milling Worker, Aerospace Composite Technician, Aircraft Digital Assembly Technician, Aircraft Structural Bonding Assembler

Uses computers, equipment, tooling and tools to make, assemble, test and measure aircraft parts.

Main tasks

Checking and counting materials, assemblies and finished parts
Forming aircraft parts by pressing, rolling, explosive forming and other methods with tools and sheet metal equipment
Forming metal tubes with tools and equipment and pressure testing them
Trimming, machining, combining and assembling dies and gauges
Joining structural and system parts by riveting or bonding, assembling aircraft sections and testing them
Measuring the joining of major sections and the whole aircraft with tooling instruments and measuring equipment
Making, laying and testing aircraft cables, making, testing and adjusting panels and relay boxes, and positioning, installing, wiring and testing electrical instruments
Moulding and assembling aerospace composite parts with tooling and equipment

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aircraft Maintenance Technology (460607). Vocational major 460607 Aircraft Maintenance Technology (飞行器维修技术), 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: Aircraft Riveting and Assembly; Aircraft Mechanical Systems Assembly.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥80,500 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥56,100 to CN¥119,300. One in ten earn less than CN¥46,300 and one in ten more than CN¥151,200.
This is the figure for the mid group Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing 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¥116,955 a year (2025), middle half CN¥60,272 to CN¥148,272.
This is the figure for the mid group Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers, not for this job alone.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers holds 0.08% of everyone employed in China; 24.3% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
38.4% are under 35, 54% are 35 to 54 and 7.6% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 35 to 39.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become an Aircraft Assembler?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Aircraft Maintenance Technology (460607).

How much does an Aircraft Assembler earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥80,500 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 Railway, Ship and Aerospace Equipment Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥116,955 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Aircraft Assembler?

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