China to strengthen skilled workforce cultivation to promote economic transformation

BEIJING -- China will ramp up policy support for companies to cultivate skilled workers as part of its efforts to accelerate its economic transformation.

The government announced a series of major measures on Wednesday, from establishing talent training bases to increasing welfare benefits for skilled workers, according to guidelines released by eight government departments, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the National Development and Reform Commission.

One of the goals is to cultivate more than 15,000 leading talents and 5 million highly skilled workers nationwide within a three-year period, according to the guidelines.

The country has over 200 million skilled workers, accounting for more than 26 percent of its total workforce. However, there is still a structural imbalance with a lack of supply of highly skilled workers.

An official of the ministry said China's evolving industrial landscape, which features the upgrading of traditional industries and emerging new quality productive forces, requires a higher caliber of skilled labor.

Efforts will be made to cultivate master craftspeople and highly skilled workers and develop a first-rate industrial technical workforce, according to the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee in July.

Wednesday's new policy focuses on encouraging enterprises to invest in talent development.

For instance, by the end of 2025, China plans to support the establishment of over 400 national skilled talent training bases, covering areas from advanced manufacturing to childcare.

Enterprises will receive support in establishing vocational schools and training institutions, as well as in conducting independent vocational skills assessments and issuing certificates.

To address mismatches between labor supply and industry demand, the guidelines suggest creating a collaborative talent development ecosystem involving businesses, educational institutions and governments. In response to the digital revolution, the policy emphasizes cultivating new digital professions in areas like big data, artificial intelligence, smart manufacturing, integrated circuits and data security.

The guidelines noted that highly skilled workers should be incentivized with benefits such as profit sharing, stock options and urban residency, and honors like government special allowances and labor model recognition.

The ministry pledged to work closely with other relevant departments to align policies on financing and projects, and formulate detailed measures to ensure effective implementation of the supportive policy.