Skilled talent serves as a fundamental pillar supporting China's manufacturing and innovation capabilities. Since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the nation's skilled workforce has expanded significantly in scale, improved in structure, and played an increasingly prominent role. The total number of skilled workers nationwide now exceeds 220 million, including more than 72 million highly-skilled professionals, providing solid talent support for high-quality economic and social development.

As a new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation accelerates, and as public demand for higher-quality, more refined services continues to rise, higher requirements are being placed on skilled workers. In June of this year, the State Council issued the "15th Five-Year Plan for Implementing the Employment Priority Strategy," followed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security's release of the "15th Five-Year Plan for Human Resources and Social Security Development" in July, which systematically outlines plans for large-scale vocational skills training. In September, the 48th WorldSkills Competition will be held in Shanghai, comprehensively showcasing China's achievements in skills development. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, how will China accelerate the development of a knowledgeable, skilled, and innovative workforce, and cultivate more master craftsmen and highly-skilled talents? Reporters interviewed human resources and social security departments, relevant enterprises, technical schools, and skilled workers to find answers.

Addressing the Contradictions of "People Without Skills, Skills Mismatched to Jobs, and Jobs Without Workers"

In Changsha, Hunan Province, a recent artificial intelligence trainer training session took place at the Digital Skills Talent Public Training Base. Trainee Li Huan eagerly sought clarification from the instructor on how to determine precision standards for data annotation, with the teacher providing detailed explanations using real corporate cases. The 14-day training program progressed from basic to advanced levels, with practical tasks ranging from speech transcription standards to intelligent copy generation, filling each day with intensive learning. "This perfectly suits the learning pace of beginners with zero foundation and gives me the confidence to transition into the digital industry," Li Huan said. Hunan has been conducting large-scale "one skill per person" vocational training this year, focusing on the skills needs of 12 key industrial chains and prioritizing assistance for migrant workers, university graduates, veterans, and people with disabilities to address their skill gaps. To ensure training effectiveness, subsidy funds are directly linked to employment rates, certification rates, and salary fulfillment rates, further strengthening accountability for training institutions. As of July 1st, Hunan had trained 710,800 people this year, with artificial intelligence and eldercare services ranking among the most popular training areas. According to a representative from the Hunan Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the province will conduct 5 million training sessions during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, implementing initiatives for migrant worker support, graduate advancement, course-certificate integration, and outstanding technician development, while establishing and utilizing six mechanisms including the "training-production-evaluation-employment" closed loop, demand-supply matching, and skills assessment systems to address the structural contradictions of "people without skills, skills mismatched to jobs, and jobs without workers."

Increasing the proportion of skilled workers in the employed workforce from 30% in 2025 to 35% by 2030 is one of the main targets outlined in the "15th Five-Year Plan for Implementing the Employment Priority Strategy." An official from the Vocational Skills Development Department of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security stated that during this period, China will build a lifelong vocational skills training implementation system, carry out high-quality "skills illuminate the future" training initiatives, and organize specialized training programs targeting industrial development, enterprise employment needs, and worker job-seeking demands in areas such as artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, low-altitude economy, new energy vehicles, and eldercare services. The country will comprehensively promote production-education-evaluation integration, order-based, and project-based training models, and cultivate more skill ecosystem chains that link industry, education, and certification. The goal includes creating a "30-minute training circle" and publishing an electronic map of training public services to provide workers with convenient and accessible training opportunities.

Breaking Down Barriers of Degree and Seniority Requirements in Talent Selection

In Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, at the production dispatch center of Shagang Group, dozens of industrial control hosts and data collection servers operate continuously, with large screens displaying real-time production data including rolling output, energy consumption, and temperature across the plant. Zhou Enhui, the company's chief technician, sits at the operations console, closely monitoring real-time data while programming algorithms for optimization. The digital metering and control management system he led in designing has resolved issues related to steel billet weighing, thermal imaging temperature measurement, and statistical deviations in water, electricity, and gas energy consumption. Over the past three years, he has completed more than 70 electrical digital transformation projects, generating cumulative economic value exceeding 200 million yuan for the enterprise. Thanks to the establishment and implementation of the "new eight-level worker" vocational skills grading system, Zhou Enhui, who started as a frontline electrician, was promoted to chief technician at his company last year. Liu Jie, Director of the Vocational Skills Appraisal Center of Suzhou's Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, explained that the selection of chief technicians is independently completed by enterprises through methods such as performance evaluation, interview defense, and comprehensive assessment, with human resources and social security departments providing full supervision to ensure high standards and procedural integrity. Zhang Xiucheng, Deputy Director of the Organization and Personnel Department at Shagang Group, noted that the company has independently developed detailed evaluation criteria for electrician and metering positions based on the "new eight-level worker" system, emphasizing on-site fault handling, digital transformation capabilities, and mentorship results rather than academic credentials or seniority, to identify practical talents who can solve production line challenges more aligned with the development needs of intelligent steel manufacturing.

"For workers in private enterprises, the 'new eight-level worker' skills grading system is a tangible and real benefit that turns 'skills changing destiny' into reality," Zhou Enhui reflected. Workers now have dedicated career development pathways and can continuously advance based on work performance, making them more willing to stay rooted in frontline positions and deepen their skills. "Recently, Suzhou has been conducting promotional activities for highly-skilled talent consumption, where those with skill level certificates can enjoy exclusive discounts on home appliances and domestic services, giving skilled workers an even greater sense of recognition." According to the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, 40 large and medium-sized enterprises in Jiangsu are participating in pilot programs for special-grade technician and chief technician evaluation this year, with expectations of certifying no fewer than 70 special-grade technicians and 15 chief technicians by the end of the third quarter. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Jiangsu will expand the coverage of the "new eight-level worker" system in terms of scale, enterprise types, and evaluation conditions, launching breakthrough pilots in industries with relatively fewer skilled talent certifications such as modern services and "elderly care and childcare." The province will gradually expand participating enterprises from state-owned and large private enterprises to include various small and medium-sized enterprises, while also providing evaluation pathways for workers in SMEs, flexible employment, and new forms of employment. In the first half of this year, China deepened the implementation of the "new eight-level worker" vocational skills grading system, with the skilled workforce continuing to grow. A total of 4.819 million people newly obtained vocational qualifications or skill level certificates, including 1.936 million at the advanced worker level or above, and 141,000 at the technician level or above. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security official stated that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will further implement the "new eight-level worker" grading system, strongly support enterprises in conducting independent evaluations, optimize social evaluation institutions, research and formulate regulations on skilled talent evaluation, and promote the healthy development of the skills assessment system.

Strengthening Training to Address Talent Gaps and Encouraging Industry-Academia Collaboration

Ma Chengbin, a student majoring in electrical automation at Shandong Wantong Technical School, part of Xinhua Education Group, has been busy with PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) specialized training. "Our curriculum closely mirrors real factory production scenarios. For example, when simulating the construction of an industrial assembly line control system, I need to independently complete tasks such as electrical control cabinet wiring and sensor calibration, and finally achieve automatic start-stop of the entire equipment, multi-station linkage, and audible and visual fault alarms," Ma said. The electrical automation major he studies in was newly added by the school in the past two years. The institution has been recruiting experienced engineers and project managers from intelligent manufacturing enterprises as full-time instructors, inviting provincial electrical skills assessment experts and chief engineers from equipment manufacturers to teach on campus, while also organizing regular internships for its own teachers at partner enterprises and inviting businesses to conduct practical training on campus.

Data shows that in the second quarter of this year, the job vacancy-to-applicant ratios for welders, lathe operators, and mechanical equipment installers in Shandong exceeded 2. With the accelerated development of intelligent manufacturing, the gap for compound skilled talent in electrical automation continues to widen. "After graduation, students can join partner intelligent manufacturing equipment companies, new energy factories, and rail transit supporting units," said practical training instructor Duan Mengyu. Li Yongpeng, Executive Deputy General Manager of Xinhua Education Group's Automotive Second Business Division, introduced that last year the group's more than 200 institutions opened over 380 targeted order-based classes in intelligent manufacturing and electrical automation, delivering more than 15,000 skilled workers to enterprises. According to the Shandong Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, starting from the 2025 fall semester, all technical colleges in the province have made artificial intelligence general education courses compulsory, with no fewer than 32 class hours. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Shandong will deepen industry-academia collaboration, encourage the establishment of "schools within factories" and "factories within schools," and build approximately 20 provincial-level high-skilled talent training bases. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security official added that during this period, China will implement a plan to build high-quality technical colleges, establishing a number of excellent technician institutes and 100 quality specialties, while cultivating several technical education alliances and groups to enhance skilled talent cultivation capabilities.