General Chemical Process Workers

How to become an Industrial Cleaner

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 工业清洗工

Also called: Chemical Cleaner, High Pressure Water Jet Cleaner, Boiler Cleaner, Central Air Conditioning Cleaner, Tank Cleaning Operator

Uses cleaning equipment and chemical or physical methods to remove deposits from the surfaces of all kinds of equipment and objects.

Main tasks

Inspecting the structure and surface of objects, choosing a cleaning method and setting up the cleaning system
Cleaning surfaces with chemical cleaning agents and the matching equipment
Blasting equipment and facility surfaces with high pressure water jets
Cleaning the water side of boiler heating surfaces and passivating them
Cleaning and passivating central air conditioning water systems and removing dust, dirt and microbes from ducts
Mechanically cleaning storage tanks with heated, pressurised cleaning fluid under inert gas protection and gas monitoring
Monitoring cleaning readings, judging when cleaning is complete and assessing the result
Checking and maintaining cleaning equipment and dealing quickly with problems during the job
Recording and filing cleaning data

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Chemical Technology (470201). Vocational major 470201 Applied Chemical Technology (应用化工技术), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Chemical Processes (670201). Vocational major 670201 Chemical Processes (化学工艺), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Chemical Manufacturing Engineering Technology (270202). Vocational major 270202 Intelligent Chemical Manufacturing Engineering Technology (化工智能制造工程技术), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis; Big Data Analysis and Applications.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥70,300 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥51,500 to CN¥94,900. One in ten earn less than CN¥41,200 and one in ten more than CN¥123,600.
This is the figure for the mid group Chemical Raw Materials and Products 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¥93,642 a year (2025), middle half CN¥62,231 to CN¥119,547.
This is the figure for the minor group General Chemical Process 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 Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers holds 0.24% of everyone employed in China; 30.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
33.9% are under 35, 57.1% are 35 to 54 and 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 Industrial Cleaner?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Applied Chemical Technology (470201); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Chemical Processes (670201).

How much does an Industrial Cleaner earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥70,300 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 Chemical Raw Materials and Products Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥93,642 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of an Industrial Cleaner?

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