China’s construction machinery exports open new career opportunities
The global expansion of Chinese construction machinery is creating demand for skilled technicians capable of servicing and repairing the equipment in international markets. For Chinese students and young workers, this is opening new career opportunities that increasingly combine technical expertise with foreign-language skills.
Experience in maintaining heavy machinery is now essential at construction sites and ports around the world. Yet the occupation only became an official WorldSkills competition discipline at the 44th WorldSkills Competition in 2017. Before that, vocational programs in the field struggled to attract students.
That situation has changed significantly. At Ningbo Technical College in east China’s Zhejiang Province, instructor Hong Yuecheng welcomed 44 new students to his heavy machinery repair class this semester. Many came from different parts of China, drawn by the program’s growing popularity.
“When I studied here in 2014, there was perhaps only one excavator in the program. Now we have more equipment models and engine testing platforms, and the number of students has increased significantly,” Hong said.
The vocational college offers three-, five- and six-year programs designed to prepare students for technical positions at different levels. Although the program graduates only around 50 specialists a year, nearly all of them find jobs immediately after graduation.
As Chinese construction machinery manufacturers expand their global presence, demand is growing for graduates who combine technical knowledge with foreign-language skills.
Yang Ruofan is one of them. He joined the program’s “overseas class” in 2022, when complex electrical diagrams and hydraulic drawings were completely unfamiliar to him. Today, he can read them with ease. In addition to daytime workshop training, he spends his evenings studying English so that he can better understand international repair manuals.
“I need to understand our repair materials. And I need basic communication skills to interact with local residents, so I have to keep improving my English,” Yang said.
His career path reflects the growing demand for technicians willing to work overseas. After completing a corporate interview, Yang went through a six-month company training program and eventually became eligible for overseas assignments in after-sales service.
“Two of my senior colleagues are heading to Indonesia at the end of this month. They are now working there on a permanent basis and earn about 300,000 yuan, or roughly 44,680 U.S. dollars, a year. If you know both the technology and English, companies will choose you first,” he said.
In 2025, China’s construction machinery exports exceeded 60 billion U.S. dollars, rising 13.8 percent from the previous year. As reported by CCTV+, the industry’s expansion is creating new opportunities for Chinese skilled workers on international labor markets.
