How to become a chemical processing or products plant controller

Official title: Chemical processing/products plant controller

Also called: Acetylene plant operator, Autoclave operator (chemical and related processes), Batch still operator (chemical processes, excluding petroleum), Blending machine operator (chemical and related processes), Candle making machine operator, Carbon-monoxide plant operator, Centrifugal separator operator, Ceramic filter operator, Char-kiln tender (chemical and related processes), Chemical bleacher operator, Chemical mixing machine operator, Chemical plant products controller

Chemical processing/products plant controller operates and monitors chemical (excluding pharmaceutical) plants and related multi-function process control machinery, and adjusts and maintains processing units and equipment which distil, filter, separate, heat or refine chemicals.

Main tasks

• Operating electronic or computerised control panels from a central control room to monitor and optimise physical and chemical processes for several processing units
• Adjusting equipment, valves, pumps, controls and process equipment
• Controlling the preparation, measuring and feeding of raw materials and processing agents such as catalysts and filtering media into plant
• Controlling process start-up and shut-down, troubleshooting and monitoring outside process equipment
• Verifying equipment for malfunctions, carrying out routine operating tests and arranging for maintenance
• Analysing sample products, performing tests, recording data and writing production logs

Ways in

• Apprenticeship: Work-study diploma. Related ITE work-study diplomas: Work-Study Diploma in Chemical Process Technology. You are employed by a company and study at ITE at the same time. Peernovo matched these from course names.
• Polytechnic or ITE: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec). Related ITE courses: Higher Nitec in Chemical Process Technology. Peernovo matched these from course names; ITE does not publish which jobs each course leads to.; Polytechnic diploma. Related diplomas: Diploma in Chemical Engineering (Temasek Polytechnic). Peernovo matched these from course names; polytechnics do not publish which jobs each course leads to.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Pharmaceutical products machine controller
• Metal production process controller
• Power generating plant operator
• Stationary engine operator
• Compressor operator
• Pumping station operator

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Questions people ask

How do I become a chemical processing or products plant controller?

Ways in include: ITE course (Nitec or Higher Nitec); Polytechnic diploma; Work-study diploma.

Will AI change the work of a chemical processing or products plant controller?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• 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