How to become a food and related products machine operator

Official title: Food and related products machine operators

Also called: Bakery products machine operator, Bread production machine operator, Chocolate production machine operator, Cigarette production machine operator, Cigar production machine operator, Dairy products machine operator, Fish processing machine operator, Meat processing machine operator, Milk processing machine operator

Food and related products machine operators set, operate and attend machinery used to slaughter animals and trim meat from carcasses; bake, freeze, heat, crush, mix, blend and otherwise process foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco leaves.

Main tasks

• Operating and monitoring machinery used to restrain, stun and slaughter animals and to trim carcasses into standard meat and fish cuts
• Setting, operating and attending machinery and ovens to mix, bake and otherwise prepare bread and flour confectionery products
• Operating machinery to crush, mix, malt, cook and ferment grains and fruits to produce beer, wines, malt liquors, vinegar, yeast and related products
• Attending equipment to make jam, toffee, cheese, processed cheese, margarine, syrup, ice, pasta, ice-cream, sausages, chocolate, maize starch, edible fats and dextrin
• Operating equipment to cool, heat, dry, roast, blanch, pasteurize, smoke, sterilize, freeze, evaporate and concentrate foodstuffs and liquids used in food processing
• Mixing, pulping, grinding, blending and separating foodstuffs and liquids with churning, pressing, sieving, grinding and filtering equipment
• Processing tobacco leaves by machine to make cigarettes, cigars, pipe and other tobacco products

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.

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a food and related products 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 food and related products 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