Building Installation Workers

How to become a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 制冷空调系统安装维修工

Also called: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Installer, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Repairer, Refrigerant Recovery Technician

Uses general and specialist tools to install, connect, assemble, commission and repair refrigeration and air conditioning systems.

Main tasks

Connecting and installing condensers, compressors, expansion devices, evaporators, pumps, cooling towers and so on with pipes and valves
Insulating equipment, pipes through walls, and cold room floors, walls and loading doors with specialist insulation
Connecting equipment controls to the building management system or central control system
Installing exhaust fans and equipment for venting toxic refrigerants in plant rooms
Commissioning the whole system with test instruments
Maintaining and repairing refrigeration and air conditioning equipment and systems
Regularly checking, maintaining and adjusting equipment, instruments and repair tools
Recovering refrigerant with specialist recovery equipment during repairs and reusing or reclaiming it

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Hydropower Station Electromechanical Equipment and Automation (430102). Vocational major 430102 Hydropower Station Electromechanical Equipment and Automation (水电站机电设备与自动化), 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: Substation and Distribution Operation and Maintenance.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (460205). Vocational major 460205 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (制冷与空调技术), 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: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning System Installation and Repair.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Installation and Operation (640403). Vocational major 640403 Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Installation and Operation (供热通风与空调施工运行), 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: Building Information Modelling (BIM).; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Pumping Station Electromechanical Equipment Installation and Operation (650301). Vocational major 650301 Pumping Station Electromechanical Equipment Installation and Operation (水泵站机电设备安装与运行), 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: Substation and Distribution Operation and Maintenance.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment Operation and Maintenance (660205). Vocational major 660205 Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Equipment Operation and Maintenance (制冷和空调设备运行与维护), 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: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning System Installation and Repair.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Rural Drinking Water Supply Engineering Technology (650205). Vocational major 650205 Rural Drinking Water Supply Engineering Technology (农村饮水供水工程技术), 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: Water Environment Monitoring and Treatment; Surface Water Quality Monitoring (rivers, lakes, reservoirs and bays); Wastewater Treatment.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥60,000 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥46,600 to CN¥81,500. One in ten earn less than CN¥36,100 and one in ten more than CN¥106,900.
This is the figure for the mid group Construction 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¥71,645 a year (2025), middle half CN¥67,842 to CN¥97,301.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

The census group Construction Workers holds 9.52% of everyone employed in China; 14.2% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
25% are under 35, 58.1% are 35 to 54 and 16.9% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 45 to 49.
Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Hydropower Station Electromechanical Equipment and Automation (430102); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technology (460205).

How much does a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥60,000 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 Construction Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥71,645 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Technician?

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