How to become a floor layer or tile setter

Official title: Floor layers and tile setters

Also called: Carpet layer, Marble setter, Parquetry worker, Tile setter

Floor layers and tile setters install, maintain and repair flooring, and cover floors, walls and other surfaces with carpets, tiles or mosaic panels for decorative or other purposes.

Main tasks

• Preparing floor areas for covering with a variety of materials
• Assembling carpet, tiles or other materials and laying them on floors according to design and other specifications
• Preparing wall areas for covering with tiles or other materials for decorative or other purposes such as acoustic insulation
• Setting tiles and constructing and laying mosaic panels to walls, floors and other surfaces

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Bricklayer/Plasterer/Tiler. Bricklayer/Plasterer/Tiler (磚工／批盪工／瓦工) is a designated trade under the Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap. 47); the period of apprenticeship is 3 years (Cap. 47C). Apprentices sign a registered contract with an employer.
• Licence or registration: Registering body: Construction Industry Council. Law: Construction Workers Registration Ordinance (建造業工人註冊條例), Cap. 583. Summary by Peernovo; check the body's current rules.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$21,000 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.

Related jobs

• Air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics
• Insulation workers
• Roofers
• Glaziers
• Plasterers
• Plumbers and pipe fitters

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Questions people ask

How do I become a floor layer or tile setter?

Ways in include: Bricklayer/Plasterer/Tiler.

Do you need a degree to become a floor layer or tile setter?

Usually not. Only 4% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Bricklayer/Plasterer/Tiler.

Will AI change the work of a floor layer or tile setter?

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
• Census and Statistics Department: Average daily wages of workers engaged in public sector construction projects, 39 trades (Table 220-20001) (Monthly, 2021 series, 2026-07), 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