How to become a Shoemaker
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 制鞋工
Also called: Cloth Shoe Maker, Leather Shoe Maker, Sports Shoe Maker
Makes leather shoes, sports and casual shoes and cloth shoes from leather, fabric, plastic and other materials with bonding machines, sewing machines, presses, polishers and other equipment or tools.
Main tasks
- Bonding and drying the main and other materials of cloth shoes with bonding machines and other equipment
- Marking upper and sole patterns on materials
- Cutting out uppers and soles with clicking presses and cutting dies
- Assembling upper pieces with adhesive
- Sewing upper parts into uppers with sewing machines and other equipment
- Lasting uppers into shape with shaping equipment, by hand or on lasts
- Sewing, pressing or bonding uppers to soles with sewing machines, presses and gluing machines
- Finishing shoes with polishers and other materials
Ways in
- Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Footwear Design and Technology (480104). Vocational major 480104 Footwear Design and Technology (鞋类设计与工艺), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).
Pay · AI and this job
- Median pay in China: CN¥54,900 a year (2025).
- Middle half: CN¥44,200 to CN¥68,600. One in ten earn less than CN¥35,600 and one in ten more than CN¥87,300.
- This is the figure for the mid group Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products 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¥58,782 a year (2025), middle half CN¥50,060 to CN¥76,603.
- This is the figure for the mid group Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products 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 Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products Workers holds 2.43% of everyone employed in China; 64.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 36% are under 35, 57% are 35 to 54 and 6.9% 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.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a Shoemaker?
Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Footwear Design and Technology (480104).
How much does a Shoemaker earn in China?
Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥54,900 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 Textile, Clothing, Leather and Fur Products Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥58,782 a year (2025).
Will AI change the work of a Shoemaker?
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