Power Transmission, Distribution and Control Equipment Workers Green occupation

How to become a Solar Panel Maker

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 光伏组件制造工

Also called: Crystalline Silicon Solar Panel Maker, Thin Film Solar Panel Maker, Concentrator Solar Panel Maker, Gallium Arsenide Solar Panel Maker

Uses crystalline silicon and thin film panel production lines and other equipment to make crystalline silicon, thin film, concentrator and gallium arsenide solar panels.

Main tasks

Testing the electrical performance of each cell, sorting cells by look and soldering them, using sorting equipment and soldering irons or machines
Laying up glass, EVA, cells, busbars and backsheet in order with laminators, layup machines, framing machines and sealant equipment, bringing out the positive and negative leads, then laminating, curing and framing to make crystalline silicon panels
Coating substrates and scribing the thin film layers with coating and laser equipment to make cells
Connecting electrodes to thin film cells and laminating them into thin film panels with special tools and laminators
Making concentrator panels with specialist production equipment
Making single cells with lithography machines, epitaxy equipment, dicing saws, coating machines and so on
Making gallium arsenide panels with soldering machines and similar equipment
Testing the electrical and safety performance of panels, using equipment such as solar simulators

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electric Machines and Appliances Technology (460203). Vocational major 460203 Electric Machines and Appliances Technology (电机与电器技术), 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: Programmable Control System Integration and Applications; Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Installation and Commissioning.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Photovoltaic Materials Preparation Technology (430606). Vocational major 430606 Photovoltaic Materials Preparation Technology (光伏材料制备技术), 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 Manufacturing Production Management and Control; Photovoltaic Power Station Operation and Maintenance; Intelligent Manufacturing Equipment Operation and Maintenance.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Photovoltaic Engineering Technology and Applications (630301). Vocational major 630301 Photovoltaic Engineering Technology and Applications (光伏工程技术与应用), 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: Photovoltaic Power Station Operation and Maintenance; Programmable Control System Integration and Applications.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥64,700 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥51,200 to CN¥82,200. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,000 and one in ten more than CN¥103,200.
This is the figure for the mid group Electrical Machinery and 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¥80,665 a year (2025), middle half CN¥62,386 to CN¥95,883.
This is the figure for the mid group Electrical Machinery and 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 Electrical Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Workers holds 0.37% of everyone employed in China; 40.3% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
48.6% are under 35, 46.6% are 35 to 54 and 4.8% 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 Solar Panel Maker?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electric Machines and Appliances Technology (460203); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Photovoltaic Materials Preparation Technology (430606).

How much does a Solar Panel Maker earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥64,700 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 Electrical Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥80,665 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Solar Panel Maker?

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