Handicraft workers

How to become a precision-instrument maker or repairer

Official title: Precision-instrument makers and repairers

Also called: Instrument/meteorological maker, Photographic equipment repairer, Surgical instrument maker, Watchmaker

Precision-instrument makers and repairers make, calibrate, repair, maintain, adjust and install mechanical watches and clocks, and nautical, meteorological, optical and other precision instruments and equipment, and set them for correct performance.

Main tasks

Repairing, cleaning and adjusting mechanisms of timing instruments such as watches and clocks
Adjusting timing regulators, using calipers, watch-rate recorders and tweezers
Cleaning, rinsing and drying timepiece parts, using solutions and ultrasonic or mechanical watch-cleaning machines
Testing timepiece accuracy and performance, using meters and other electronic instruments
Testing accuracy of meters, gauges, indicators, or other recording or controlling instruments to locate defective components and for conformity with standards
Calibrating instruments or scales, using hand tools, computer or electronic devices
Inspecting components, connections and drive mechanisms to detect defects
Assembling instruments and devices such as barometers, control valves, gyroscopes, hygrometers, speedometers, tachometers and thermostats
Testing, calibrating and adjusting electronic, mercurial, aneroid and other types of meteorological instruments for compliance with printed specifications and schematic diagrams, using voltmeters, oscilloscopes, tube testers and other test instruments
Adjusting and repairing masts, supporting structures, clearance lights, control panels, control cabling and wiring, and other electrical and mechanical devices

Ways in

Apprenticeship: Instrument Mechanic. Instrument Mechanic (儀器工) is a designated trade under the Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap. 47); the period of apprenticeship is 4 years (Cap. 47C). Apprentices sign a registered contract with an employer.

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.

Questions people ask

How do I become a precision-instrument maker or repairer?

Ways in include: Instrument Mechanic.

Do you need a degree to become a precision-instrument maker or repairer?

Usually not. Only 9% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Instrument Mechanic.

Will AI change the work of a precision-instrument maker or repairer?

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