Since the beginning of 2020, over 10 million people have received vocational education and training in China, allowing most of them to master a skill and get a job.

The country has also allocated over 100 billion yuan ($14.92 billion) from the surplus in its unemployment insurance funds to implement a vocational skill building initiative and upgrade workers’ skills.

Students have a training class on auto repairing at a vocational school in Xiji County, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 16, 2020. (Xinhua/Yang Zhisen)

Departments of human resources and social security in various places of China have strengthened vocational skills training, improved vocational education, perfected relevant mechanisms, cultivated more skilled professionals and organized various kinds of skill competitions.

In the face of the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, these departments have taken more targeted measures, launching “Internet plus skills training” programs, providing subsidies for all enterprises which have online training programs. From late March to the end of June, 54 online training platforms were chosen to offer free training courses, benefiting over 12 million people.

In 2019, 1.43 million students were enrolled in vocational schools, going beyond the target. The number of vocational schools and enrolled students continues to grow, which can be attributed to the departments’ efforts in promoting vocational education, while maintaining a series of favorable policies.

In addition, the country is working to establish more proper and reasonable accreditation systems for skilled professionals. So far, there are 570,000 qualified skilled professionals across the country with certificates of vocational skills.

Another measure to boost vocational education is the skills contest, which serves as an important channel to select new professional talents.

Since last year, many skills contests have been held. Deng Zhixian, a student of Guangdong Machinery Technician College, became the champion of benchwork in a nationwide skills contest for poverty alleviation. Inspired by Luo Liping, silver medalist of commodity display technology project at the 45th World Skills Competition in 2019, Deng hopes to participate in the 47th World Skills Competition in 2023 in Lyon, France.

China’s first national vocational skills competition will be held in Guangdong province in December 2020, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.