Wire, Cable, Optical Fibre and Electrical Materials Workers

How to become an Electrical Contact Maker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 电工合金电触头制造工

Also called: Electrical Alloy Melting and Hot Forming Worker, Electrical Alloy Cold Forming Worker, Electrical Alloy Powder Processing Worker

Uses equipment such as melting furnaces, extrusion presses, internal oxidation furnaces and automatic cold weld contact machines to make low, medium and high voltage electrical contacts and contact parts.

Main tasks

Sieving metal powders such as copper and silver and blending them by particle size
Mixing, granulating and ball milling metal powders in powder mixers
Pressing metal powders into shape or isostatic pressing them on forming machines
Rolling, extruding and bonding copper, silver and other metals and alloys on rolling mills, extrusion presses and similar equipment
Making low voltage contacts on automatic cold weld contact machines
Making medium and high voltage contacts in atmosphere sintering furnaces, vacuum sintering furnaces and similar equipment
Welding copper carriers to contact material with spot welders, fusion welders or brazing equipment, then finishing them to make contact assemblies
Testing the physical, chemical and electrical properties of contact materials and assemblies with tools, gauges and test equipment

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥64,700 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥51,200 to CN¥82,200. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥103,200.
This is the figure for the mid group Electrical Machinery and 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¥84,672 a year (2025), middle half CN¥79,559 to CN¥98,414.
This is the figure for the minor group Wire, Cable, Optical Fibre and Electrical Materials 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 Electrical Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Workers holds 0.37% of everyone employed in China; 40.3% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.6% are under 35, 46.6% are 35 to 54 and 4.8% 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 much does an Electrical Contact Maker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥64,700 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 Electrical Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥84,672 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Electrical Contact Maker?

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