Shipbuilding Workers Green occupation

How to become a Shipbreaker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 拆船工

Also called: Instrument Dismantler, Engine Room Dismantler, Hull Dismantler and Tanker Cleaner

Uses demolition equipment and tools to break up scrapped ships into steel plate, rerollable metal, scrap steel, non ferrous metals and equipment and instruments that can still be used.

Main tasks

Cutting boarding openings in the ship with fitting and gas cutting tools
Cleaning oily sludge out of tanker holds with tank washers, fans, shovels and so on, and treating and discharging oily water
Measuring levels of flammable and harmful gases with gas detectors and explosion meters
Safely dealing with flammable and explosive hazards left on board, such as leftover oil, solvents, paint, flares and pressure vessels, and storing them by type
Removing tanks that hold inert gas, carbon monoxide and other harmful substances
Removing usable equipment and spares with tools, such as instruments, communication and navigation equipment and deck machinery, then sorting, packing and storing them
Removing instruments, equipment and main engines that cannot be used again
Cutting up the hull into plate, sections and scrap steel, weighing them and stacking them by type

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Ship Welding Technology (460504). Vocational major 460504 Intelligent Ship Welding Technology (船舶智能焊接技术), 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: Special Operations Personnel; Special Equipment Inspection; Testing Personnel Qualification; Special Welding Technology.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Marine Electrical Engineering Technology (460503). Vocational major 460503 Marine Electrical Engineering Technology (船舶电气工程技术), 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: Intelligent Production Line Control and Maintenance; Programmable Controller System Application Programming.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Marine Power Engineering Technology (460502). Vocational major 460502 Marine Power Engineering Technology (船舶动力工程技术), 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: Computer Technology and Software Professional Qualification; Mechanical Digital Design and Manufacturing.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Ship Engineering Technology (460501). Vocational major 460501 Ship Engineering Technology (船舶工程技术), 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: Special Welding Technology; Intelligent Production Line Control and Maintenance.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Intelligent Shipbuilding Technology (260501). Vocational major 260501 Intelligent Shipbuilding Technology (船舶智能制造技术), 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: Special Welding Technology; Intelligent Production Line Control and Maintenance.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Marine Electrical Engineering Technology (260503). Vocational major 260503 Marine Electrical Engineering Technology (船舶电气工程技术), 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: Intelligent Production Line Control and Maintenance; Programmable Controller System Application Programming.; Vocational bachelor (职业本科) major: Marine Power Engineering Technology (260502). Vocational major 260502 Marine Power Engineering Technology (船舶动力工程技术), 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: Mechanical Digital Design and Manufacturing; Network Security Services.

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 a Shipbreaker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Ship Welding Technology (460504); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Marine Electrical Engineering Technology (460503).

How much does a Shipbreaker 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 a Shipbreaker?

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
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation, National Bureau of Statistics: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China, 2022 edition (public consultation draft) (2022 public consultation draft (1,636 occupations; final edition 1,639)), 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