Textile, fur and leather products machine operators

How to become a fibre preparing, spinning and winding machine operator

Official title: Fibre preparing, spinning and winding machine operators

Also called: Fibre combing machine operator, Fibre preparing machine operator, Thread and yarn spinning machine operator, Thread and yarn twisting machine operator, Thread and yarn winding machine operator

Fibre preparing, spinning and winding machine operators monitor and operate machines which prepare fibres, and spin, double, twist and wind yarn and thread from natural textile fibres. They twist two or more strands of yarn to prepare single stronger, smoother, uniform and heavier strands, and treat textiles to make them stiff and water resistant.

Main tasks

Operating and monitoring machines for tearing woollen rags into fibre
Operating and monitoring machines for cleaning and turning woollen yarn waste into fluffed wool
Operating and monitoring machines which combine textile fibres into uniform blends
Operating and monitoring machines which clean and fluff textile fibres, transform them into sliver, comb them into sliver for first drawing, combine slivers into sliver lap or sliver laps into ribbon lap
Operating draw frames (machines) having numbers of drawing sets, each set combining several slivers into one of nearly the same weight and thickness as any of the original slivers
Operating and monitoring machines which spin thread and yarn from roving, wind two or more threads onto a bobbin, twist two or more strands of yarn or thread into single strands of yarn to increase strength, smoothness and/or uniformity of yarn, or wind yarn or thread from one package to another
Operating and monitoring spinning frames that draw out and twist roving or sliver into yarn
Operating and monitoring machines for drawing slivers received from drawing machines into loosely twisted strands
Preparing sizing for use in stiffening and finishing cloth and yarn by mixing ingredients such as starch, tallow, resins and soaps with water and boiling mixture for specified times in steam
Treating textiles with chemicals to make them water resistant

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: HK$20,000 a month
About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a fibre preparing, spinning and winding machine operator?

Usually not. Only 10% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a fibre preparing, spinning and winding machine operator?

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

Sources

Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), 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

Updated 4 October 2026