Wood treaters, cabinet-makers and related trades workers

How to become a woodworking-machine tool setter or operator

Official title: Woodworking-machine tool setters and operators

Also called: Carving machine operator (wood), Furniture production machine operator, Precision woodworking sawyer, Wood products machine operator, Wood turner, Woodworking lathe operator, Woodworking machine setter, Woodworking machine setter-operator, Woodworking machine set-up operator

Woodworking machine tool setters and operators set-up, operate and monitor automatic or semi-automatic woodworking machines such as precision sawing, shaping, planing, boring, turning and woodcarving machines to fabricate or repair wooden parts for furniture, fixtures and other wooden products.

Main tasks

Setting up, programming, operating and monitoring several types of woodworking machines for sawing, shaping, boring, drilling, planing, pressing, turning, sanding or carving to fabricate or repair wooden parts for furniture, fixtures and other wooden products
Operating preset special-purpose woodworking machines to fabricate wooden products such as coat hangers, mop handles, clothespins and other products
Selecting knives, saws, blades, cutter heads, cams, bits or belts according to work piece, machine functions and product specifications
Installing and adjusting blades, cutter heads, boring-bits and sanding-belts, and using hand tools and rules
Setting and adjusting various kinds of woodworking machines for operation by others
Reading and interpreting specifications or following verbal instructions

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 woodworking-machine tool setter or operator?

Usually not. Only 8% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a woodworking-machine tool setter or 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