Machinery and Equipment Repairers

How to become a Substation Maintenance Technician

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 变电设备检修工

Also called: Switchgear Maintenance Technician, Transformer Maintenance Technician, Substation Live Line Technician

Uses instruments, tools and gauges to overhaul, replace and commission substation equipment such as circuit breakers, transformers, gas insulated switchgear, isolators and direct current systems.

Main tasks

Drawing up maintenance and work plans
Dismantling, overhauling, cleaning, assembling and adjusting isolators, circuit breakers and operating mechanisms and testing their electrical and mechanical performance
Overhauling, replacing, maintaining and cleaning earthing switches, busbars, gas insulated switchgear and fittings
Overhauling and replacing transformers, instrument transformers, reactors, arc suppression coils, reactive power compensation and lightning protection equipment
Overhauling, replacing, regularly testing and maintaining direct current system equipment
Handling insulating oil, hydraulic oil and sulphur hexafluoride gas in substation equipment
Testing, cleaning, repairing or replacing live equipment in service and fixing faults
Filling in maintenance reports

Ways in

Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Additive Manufacturing Technology (460112). Vocational major 460112 Additive Manufacturing Technology (增材制造技术), 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: Additive Manufacturing Model Design; Additive Manufacturing Equipment Operation and Maintenance; Mechanical Product 3D Model Design.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electromechanical Equipment Technology (460202). Vocational major 460202 Electromechanical Equipment Technology (机电设备技术), 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: CNC Equipment Maintenance and Repair; Industrial Robot Operation and Maintenance; Programmable Controller System Application Programming.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Hydraulic and Pneumatic Technology (460309). Vocational major 460309 Hydraulic and Pneumatic Technology (液压与气动技术), 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 Equipment Installation and Commissioning; Digital Factory Production Line Setup and Maintenance; Programmable Controller System Application Programming.; 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: Industrial Automation Instrumentation Technology (460308). Vocational major 460308 Industrial Automation Instrumentation Technology (工业自动化仪表技术), 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.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Intelligent Electromechanical Technology (460302). Vocational major 460302 Intelligent Electromechanical Technology (智能机电技术), 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: Machine Vision System Applications; Industrial Robot Application Programming; Intelligent Production Line Control and Maintenance.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing and Application Technology (460117). Vocational major 460117 Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing and Application Technology (内燃机制造与应用技术), 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: Automotive Operation and Repair; Fuel Vehicle Final Assembly and Testing.; Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Power Plants and Power Systems (430101). Vocational major 430101 Power Plants and Power Systems (发电厂及电力系统), 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; Relay Protection Maintenance; Power Generation Centralised Control Operation and Maintenance.

Pay · AI and this job

Median pay in China: CN¥63,600 a year (2025).
Middle half: CN¥48,000 to CN¥86,300. One in ten earn less than CN¥37,000 and one in ten more than CN¥117,100.
This is the figure for the mid group Production Support 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¥84,630 a year (2025), middle half CN¥63,666 to CN¥113,129.
This is the figure for the minor group Machinery and Equipment Repairers, 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 Production Support Workers holds 2.84% of everyone employed in China; 35.7% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
38.1% are under 35, 52.9% are 35 to 54 and 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.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Substation Maintenance Technician?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Additive Manufacturing Technology (460112); Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electromechanical Equipment Technology (460202).

How much does a Substation Maintenance Technician earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥63,600 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 Production Support Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥84,630 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Substation Maintenance 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