Blacksmiths, Toolmakers and Related Trades Workers

How to become a Metal Working Machine Tool Setter or Operator

Official title: Metal Working Machine Tool Setters and Operators

Metal machine tool setters and operators set up, operate and monitor automatic or semi-automatic precision metalworking machine tools and produce parts after set-up and trial runs, including lathes, metal presses, power shears, bending machines, rolling machines, planers, drills, grinders, sharpeners and metal saws.

Main tasks

Set up, operate, install and trial run precision machine tools for metalworking
Set up, operate, install and trial run all types of metalworking machine tools

Ways in

Technical college: Technician certificate: Lathe operation. National technician skill test (技術士技能檢定) run by the Workforce Development Agency, trade 183 車床－車床項. Tested at grade B (乙級), grade C (丙級). Peernovo links this trade to the occupation.; Technician certificate: Machining. National technician skill test (技術士技能檢定) run by the Workforce Development Agency, trade 185 機械加工. Tested at grade B (乙級), grade C (丙級). Peernovo links this trade to the occupation.; Technician certificate: Milling machine operation. National technician skill test (技術士技能檢定) run by the Workforce Development Agency, trade 182 銑床－銑床項. Tested at grade B (乙級), grade C (丙級). Peernovo links this trade to the occupation.

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Average pay: NT$492,000 a year
Demand for Craft and related trades jobs is projected at about 1,519,000 in 2024 and about 1,515,000 in 2030. (-0.3%)
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Metal Working Machine Tool Setter or Operator?

Ways in include: Technician certificate: Lathe operation; Technician certificate: Machining.

How much does a Metal Working Machine Tool Setter or Operator earn in Taiwan?

Average pay is NT$492,000 a year (Ministry of Labor, Department of Statistics).

Is a Metal Working Machine Tool Setter or Operator a growing career in Taiwan?

Demand for this job family is projected to change -0.3% from 2024 to 2030 (National Development Council).

Will AI change the work of a Metal Working Machine Tool Setter or Operator?

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

Sources

Ministry of Labor, Department of Statistics: Occupational Wage Survey (職類別薪資調查) (2025 survey (July 2025 monthly, 2024 annual), released 2026-05-29), Open Government Data License, version 1.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
National Development Council: Final manpower demand projections by occupation (職業別最終人力需求推估) (2025 to 2030 (base 2024), 13 job families), CC BY 4.0, 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