Power Transmission, Distribution and Control Equipment Workers

How to become a Switchgear Assembler

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 高低压电器及成套设备装配工

Also called: Low Voltage Equipment Assembler, High Voltage Equipment Assembler, High Voltage Switchgear Assembler and Wirer, Explosion Proof Electrical Assembler, High Voltage Fuse Assembler, Surge Arrester Assembler, Low Voltage Switchgear Assembler and Wirer

Uses equipment, tooling and instruments to assemble and test high and low voltage electrical equipment, switchgear, surge arresters and explosion proof electrical products.

Main tasks

Setting up and adjusting assembly benches and frames and lifting, loading and unloading work
Assembling parts such as arc chambers, conductors, operating mechanisms and drive gear with equipment, tooling and instruments
Subassembling, assembling and testing high voltage circuit breakers, high voltage contactors, prefabricated substations and switchgear for direct current transmission, with equipment, tooling and instruments
Subassembling, assembling and testing high and low voltage equipment, switches and protection relay panels with equipment and instruments
Wiring and assembling the high and low voltage switch parts, part made and finished products used in power control systems inside switchgear, with equipment and instruments
Assembling fuse elements, fuse tubes and parts into high or low voltage fuses with equipment, tooling and instruments
Assembling metal oxide resistor discs, metal or insulating parts and porcelain or polymer housings into surge arrester units and finished arresters with lifting equipment and tools
Assembling and testing explosion proof electrical components and enclosures with tools and instruments
Repairing or replacing faulty explosion proof electrical components with tools and instruments
Maintaining tools, jigs, instruments and equipment and fixing faults

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.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Electric Machine and Appliance Manufacturing and Repair (660203). Vocational major 660203 Electric Machine and Appliance Manufacturing and Repair (电机电器制造与维修), 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 Power Distribution Integration and Maintenance; Substation and Distribution Operation and Maintenance; Power Cable Installation and Maintenance.

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 Switchgear Assembler?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Electric Machines and Appliances Technology (460203); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Electric Machine and Appliance Manufacturing and Repair (660203).

How much does a Switchgear Assembler 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 Switchgear Assembler?

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