Overtime (monthly average)
18 hrs
All occupations: 11 hrs(MHLW)
Applicants, Trade Skill Test “Machine Maintenance”
31,534
FY2025. 2nd most of all 133 trades(MHLW)
“Not enough people to teach”
62.8%
Among manufacturing sites that report problems in developing staff(MHLW)
01The work
| Preventive maintenance and inspection | Regularly inspecting production equipment and utilities (air conditioning, compressors, power receiving and transforming equipment, etc.) and replacing parts. |
|---|---|
| Breakdown response | Finding out why equipment stopped and fixing it. Often split into mechanical (drives, hydraulics, pneumatics) and electrical (sequence control, motors, inverters). |
| Improvements and records | Modifying equipment to reduce breakdowns and keeping maintenance records. Some workplaces now monitor equipment with sensors and data. |
You might work in a factory’s maintenance section (assigned to set lines), in an equipment maker’s service department (visiting customers), at a maintenance contractor (stationed at several factories), or in building and facility management (author’s summary).
02Job demand
About four times the all-occupation figure. However, this category also includes car and construction machinery mechanics; a ratio for factory equipment maintenance alone is not published.
REF / Sources
- 一般職業紹介状況（長期時系列表 第21表）・雇用関係指標（年度） — Employment Referrals for General Workers (long-term time series, Table 21) and annual employment indicators (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), released May and Aug 2026 (FY2025 figures))Jobs-to-applicants ratio (有効求人倍率) for regular jobs at Hello Work, including part-time; not seasonally adjusted. Does not include openings on private job sites or through recruitment agencies.
03Pay (estimated annual pay)
By age, pay peaks at about ¥6.95M for ages 55–59. About ¥6.37M at companies with 1,000+ employees and about ¥5.00M at companies with 10–99.
REF / Sources
- 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査 — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (full-time workers, by occupation) (MHLW, published Mar 2026)Full-time (general) workers at companies with 10+ employees, men and women combined. The "estimated annual pay" is our own calculation — monthly scheduled cash earnings × 12 + annual bonuses — not an official annual income figure.
04Qualifications and licenses
- National Trade Skill Test（技能検定）“Machine Maintenance”（機械保全）: special grade, grades 1–3
- Not required, but it proves your maintenance skills. 16,363 people passed in FY2025.
- Chief Electrical Engineer, 3rd class（第三種電気主任技術者／電験三種）
- Factories and buildings with power receiving and transforming equipment must appoint a chief engineer for safety supervision (this may be outsourced). In FY2025, 48,942 took the exam and 6,365 passed (about 13.0%).
- Electrician license（電気工事士）
- Needed if you do electrical work yourself, such as rewiring.
- Boiler operator（ボイラー技士）, refrigeration machinery manager（冷凍機械責任者）, hazardous materials handler（危険物取扱者）, etc.
- Required depending on the equipment you handle.
REF / Sources
- 令和7年度「技能検定」の実施状況 — National Trade Skill Test（技能検定）results, FY2025 (MHLW, Aug 17, 2026)
- 第三種電気主任技術者試験の試験結果と推移 — Chief Electrical Engineer, 3rd class: exam results and trends (一般財団法人電気技術者試験センター (Electrical engineer examination center), FY2025)
05Rules at work
Overtime cap（時間外労働の上限規制）
Manufacturing has no grace period or exemption (large companies from April 2019, SMEs from April 2020). It’s worth checking at each workplace how sudden breakdowns and work on weekend shutdown days are shared out.
REF: MHLW, “時間外労働の上限規制（働き方改革特設サイト） — Overtime cap (Work Style Reform website)”
06Who it suits
A rough guide based on the work itself. Even if these don’t describe you, it can be worth finding out on a visit or trial shift.
- You like working out step by step why something stopped
- You’re interested in both mechanical and electrical work, or want to grow from one into the other
- You want to build expertise through qualifications (Machine Maintenance, Chief Electrical Engineer, Electrician)
07What to check on a visit or trial shift
CHECKLIST / Equipment maintenance (tick as you go)
What to bring and wear, and the points common to every job, are in the how-to guide.
REF / Sources for this page
- 一般職業紹介状況（長期時系列表 第21表）・雇用関係指標（年度） — Employment Referrals for General Workers (long-term time series, Table 21) and annual employment indicators (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), released May and Aug 2026 (FY2025 figures))Jobs-to-applicants ratio (有効求人倍率) for regular jobs at Hello Work, including part-time; not seasonally adjusted. Does not include openings on private job sites or through recruitment agencies.
- 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査 — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (full-time workers, by occupation) (MHLW, published Mar 2026)Full-time (general) workers at companies with 10+ employees, men and women combined. The "estimated annual pay" is our own calculation — monthly scheduled cash earnings × 12 + annual bonuses — not an official annual income figure.
- 令和7年度「技能検定」の実施状況 — National Trade Skill Test（技能検定）results, FY2025 (MHLW, Aug 17, 2026)
- 第三種電気主任技術者試験の試験結果と推移 — Chief Electrical Engineer, 3rd class: exam results and trends (一般財団法人電気技術者試験センター (Electrical engineer examination center), FY2025)
- 2026年版ものづくり白書 概要（厚生労働省パート） — White Paper on Manufacturing Industries 2026, summary (MHLW part) (MHLW, May 2026)
- 時間外労働の上限規制（働き方改革特設サイト） — Overtime cap (Work Style Reform website) (MHLW, applies from Apr 2019 (large companies) and Apr 2020 (SMEs))
NEXT → VISIT / TRIAL SHIFT
Equipment maintenance:
see the workplace before you join.
Apply for a visit or trial shift in the app, with no résumé or interview.
Find a workplace on CuraThe Cura app is in Japanese.