Fibre Preparation Workers

How to become a Silk, Bast and Wool Fibre Preparation Worker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 丝麻毛纤维预处理工

Also called: Wool Scouring and Carbonising Operator, Bast Fibre Degumming Worker, Bast Fibre Softening Worker, Cocoon Sorting and Stripping Worker, Cocoon Cooking Operator, Cocoon Cutting Worker, Spun Silk Sorter, Spun Silk Scouring Operator

Prepares silk, hemp, wool and other natural fibres with humidifying, cocoon cooking, scouring, opening and wool washing equipment by stripping and cooking cocoons, degumming, opening, washing and carbonising.

Main tasks

Opening sorted raw wool and removing impurities with openers
Washing or carbonising raw wool with scouring or combined scouring and carbonising machines to remove dirt, grease and vegetable matter
Mixing chemical or biological treatments for preparation
Humidifying and softening bast fibre with reaction vessels, humidifiers and other equipment
Sending treated bast fibre for machine processing by type and batch and storing it to condition
Turning raw cocoons into clean cocoons with stripping, sorting and blending machines
Soaking and cooking cocoons with vacuum penetration machines and cookers
Cutting open unflattened cocoons with cutting machines and removing pupae
Cutting, loosening, shaking, cleaning and grading spun silk raw materials by machine or by hand
Degumming spun silk raw materials with scouring equipment to make degummed silk

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Modern Textile Technology (480401). Vocational major 480401 Modern Textile Technology (现代纺织技术), 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: Textile Fabric Development.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥60,200 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥48,400 to CN¥76,600. One in ten earn less than CN¥39,200 and one in ten more than CN¥97,400.
This is the figure for the mid group Textile, Knitting, Printing and Dyeing 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¥60,348 a year (2025), middle half CN¥52,402 to CN¥71,827.
This is the figure for the mid group Textile, Knitting, Printing and Dyeing 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, Knitting, Printing and Dyeing Workers holds 0.45% of everyone employed in China; 59.3% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
31.9% are under 35, 58.4% are 35 to 54 and 9.7% 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 a Silk, Bast and Wool Fibre Preparation Worker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Modern Textile Technology (480401).

How much does a Silk, Bast and Wool Fibre Preparation Worker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥60,200 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, Knitting, Printing and Dyeing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥60,348 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Silk, Bast and Wool Fibre Preparation Worker?

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