China enhances vocational training of migrant workers

ZHENGZHOU - As a migrant worker, Li Weichao spent much of his youth shifting from one temp job to another, living thousands of miles away from his family to perform backbreaking labor for minimal pay.

The hours were long, the travel was tiring and the pay, while better than some, was just enough to get by.

In education, vocation is lesson

10m migrants to be trained each year

"I used to do manual work on construction sites, making around 300 yuan ($48) a day. I was always worried about finding my next job," the 26-year-old from Henan province said.

But his recent graduation from vocational school looks to change that. Receiving technical training as a chef, Li recently landed a stable job close to home working at a restaurant in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan province.

"Since attending vocational training school to receive training, I think the days of worrying about my next job are over," he says.

As China loosens household registration restrictions to allow migrant workers to receive equal urban welfare, many like Li now seek to settle down in cities.

The household registration system is tied to one's place of residence and was set up in 1958 to control movement of rural population into cities. The system has prevented the country's 269 million migrant workers from receiving the same public benefits as city dwellers and is widely believed to hold back urbanization and domestic consumption.

With the restrictions changing as many as 100 million migrant workers are expected to become "real city dwellers" by 2020.

To ensure new residents can find stable jobs to afford city life, cities across the country are focusing on furthering vocational training for migrant workers.

Li's home province of Henan, the country's most populated, has a work force of 49 million people. In 2009, Henan launched a province-wide campaign to strengthen the working skills of its residents by offering training programs.

By the end of 2013, the programs helped train a total of 17.8 million people.