Building frame and related trades workers

How to become a stonemason, stone cutter, splitter or carver

Official title: Stonemasons, stone cutters, splitters and carvers

Also called: Granite cutter, Stone carver, Stone cutter, Stone polisher (hand or hand-powered tools)

Stonemasons, stone cutters, splitters and carvers cut and shape hard and soft stone blocks and slabs for the construction and maintenance of stone structures and monumental masonry, and carve designs and figures in stone.

Main tasks

Driving wedges into quarried stone to break it into slabs or blocks
Selecting and grading slabs and blocks of granite, marble and other stone
Cutting, shaping and finishing building and monumental stone such as granite or marble using hand tools or hand-held power tools
Making patterns and marking shapes on stone for subsequent sawing, planing, drilling and other dressing and cutting operations
Cutting and carving characters, figures or designs on stone blocks used for monuments or memorials
Setting stone in the erection of monuments and memorials
Repairing and replacing stonework on old buildings, churches and monuments

Ways in

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.

Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become a stonemason, stone cutter, splitter or carver?

Usually not. Only 4% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a stonemason, stone cutter, splitter or carver?

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