How to become a Thermal Spray and Hardfacing Operator

Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 喷涂喷焊工

Also called: Spray Preparation Worker, Thermal Spray and Hardfacing Worker, Coating Finishing Worker

Sprays or clads a layer of material onto workpiece surfaces with arc spraying, plasma hardfacing, laser cladding and other equipment.

Main tasks

• Sandblasting or shot blasting to degrease, derust and roughen workpiece surfaces
• Preheating workpieces and holding them at temperature
• Spraying and hardfacing by flame, plasma, arc, cold spray, laser and other methods
• Testing coatings
• Analysing and repairing coating defects
• Grinding or polishing workpiece surfaces
• Packing and protecting workpieces
• Maintaining equipment

Ways in

• Vocational majors: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Coating and Protection Technology (470212). Vocational major 470212 Coating and Protection Technology (涂装防护技术), 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: Chemical Distillation Safety Control; Chemical Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) Analysis.; Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Metal Surface Treatment Technology Applications (660106). Vocational major 660106 Metal Surface Treatment Technology Applications (金属表面处理技术应用), 3 years. The Ministry of Education's 2022 major profiles list this occupation among those the major prepares students for (职业面向).

Pay · AI and this job

• Median pay in China: CN¥71,800 a year (2025).
• Middle half: CN¥54,000 to CN¥94,200. One in ten earn less than CN¥42,800 and one in ten more than CN¥119,400.
• This is the figure for the mid group Basic Machining 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¥60,662 a year (2025), middle half CN¥49,480 to CN¥120,264.
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

• The census group Basic Machining Workers holds 1.23% of everyone employed in China; 16.1% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
• 35.6% are under 35, 56.1% are 35 to 54 and 8.3% 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.

Related jobs

• Thin Film Coating Operator
• Electroplater
• Industrial Spray Painter

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Thermal Spray and Hardfacing Operator?

Ways in include: Higher vocational college (高职专科) major: Coating and Protection Technology (470212); Secondary vocational school (中职) major: Metal Surface Treatment Technology Applications (660106).

How much does a Thermal Spray and Hardfacing Operator earn in China?

Across China, the median pay of enterprise employees is CN¥71,800 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 Basic Machining Workers. In Guangzhou alone it is CN¥60,662 a year (2025).

Will AI change the work of a Thermal Spray and Hardfacing Operator?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• 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
• 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
• 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