Mobile plant operators

How to become a mobile farm and forestry plant operator

Official title: Mobile farm and forestry plant operators

Also called: Harvester operator, Logging plant operator, Timber carrier driver, Tractor driver, Tree faller operator

Mobile farm and forestry plant operators drive, tend, operate and monitor one or more types of special-purpose motorized mobile machinery or equipment used in agricultural, horticultural and forestry operations.

Main tasks

Driving and tending tractor-drawn or self-propelled special-purpose farm machinery to plough land and sow, fertilize, cultivate and harvest crops
Driving and tending tractor-drawn or self-propelled special-purpose forestry machinery to clear land, plant, harvest and carry trees and timber or perform other forestry operations
Preparing and positioning plant for operation
Adjusting speed, height and depth of implements
Operating plant to hold, lift and cut trees
Operating attachments to lift, swing, release and sort trees and logs, and operating auxiliary plant such as chipping machines and log splitting machines
Feeding felled trees into processors to strip limbs and cut into logs and loading logs onto stockpiles and into trucks
Servicing machinery and performing minor repairs

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 mobile farm and forestry plant operator?

Usually not. Only 2% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a mobile farm and forestry plant 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