On September 9, government agencies jointly announced the launch of 11 new professional titles, including shore-based ship management engineering technicians, along with 23 new job roles such as community workers. This marks the latest expansion of China's official occupational classification system.
As the nation's hydrogen energy sector continues to grow rapidly, maintaining its global leadership in both production and consumption, the demand for skilled professionals in this field has intensified significantly. In response, two new hydrogen-related occupations were introduced in this batch: hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer and water electrolysis hydrogen production worker. Both roles are designed to address the specialized needs of this fast-developing industry.
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Manufacturer
The first role involves professionals who use equipment such as mixers, coating machines, hot presses, laser cutters, and testing platforms to process materials, produce components, and assemble or calibrate hydrogen fuel cell stacks and systems. Their primary responsibilities include preprocessing materials like membranes, catalysts, carbon paper, and bipolar plates; manufacturing and testing membrane electrode assemblies and plates; assembling fuel cell stacks; evaluating stack performance; installing and connecting auxiliary systems such as hydrogen circulation, air supply, thermal management, and electronic controls; and conducting final system tests. They are also tasked with maintaining production equipment, troubleshooting abnormalities, and piloting new fuel cell products.
Water Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Worker
The second role encompasses specialists who operate rectifiers, electrolyzers, gas purification devices, compressors, and hydrogen storage tanks to manage tasks ranging from power regulation and raw material preparation to hydrogen generation, purification, and storage. Their day-to-day duties involve adjusting transformers and smart control systems to accommodate fluctuating power inputs; preparing and pretreating electrolyte solutions; running electrolyzers and circulation pumps to produce raw hydrogen; operating drying and purification units to compress and refine the gas; managing valves and piping for safe hydrogen transfer into storage; and maintaining records of production data. Like their counterparts, they also oversee equipment upkeep and resolve any operational issues that arise.
The complete list of 11 new professions includes shore-based ship management engineering technicians, digital twin engineers, embodied intelligent robot application technicians, industrial product digital modeling specialists, corporate sustainability planners, microgrid administrators, sports data analysts, incense crafting artists, hydrogen fuel cell manufacturers, satellite navigation equipment installers, and water electrolysis hydrogen production workers.
Beyond these, the 23 new job roles span a wide range of sectors. They include community workers, low-altitude logistics operators, fire rescue medics, lottery sales assistants, raw sugar custodians, low-altitude intelligent network system managers, intelligent agent developers, new energy vehicle inspectors, airport clearance patrol officers, aging-friendly renovation designers, fresh-cut flower processors, ice and snow sculpture craftsmen, smart home installers, food production safety officers, catering food safety personnel, food sales safety inspectors, engineering project labor administrators, stadium safety officers, oil residue extraction device operators, polyglycolic acid plant operators, embodied intelligent robot data collectors, embodied intelligent robot trainers, and corporate sustainable investment analysts.
Since 2019, a cumulative total of 121 new professions have been released across eight batches. The latest announcement includes five digital occupations and three green occupations, bringing the national totals for these categories to 113 and 142, respectively.