Chinese Premier Li Qiang urges better training for more blue-collar workers to plug skills shortage

Li says country needs to develop skilled talent and accelerate the development of vocational education

Government worries almost 30 million manufacturing jobs will be unfilled within the next two years

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China needs more skilled talent, according to Premier Li Qiang Photo: AFP

Published: 9:55pm, 17 Sep 2023Updated: 10:19pm, 17 Sep 2023

Chinese Premier Li Qiang has called on the country to build a corps of skilled blue-collar workers as a shortage of seasoned factory technicians drags on ambitions to move up the industrial value chain.

In a written address to a national vocational skills competition in the northern port city Tianjin, Li said broader paths and education were needed to establish a balanced workforce.

“Regions and departments across the country should earnestly develop skilled talent, accelerate the development of vocational education … broaden career development pathways, improve salary levels, and strive to cultivate a large, well-structured, and highly skilled workforce,” Li said.

China has an acute shortage of the skilled technicians it needs to build a hi-tech manufacturing sector, an ambition that is central to the country’s economic goals.

It aims to become a hi-tech power by the middle of the century, with expertise in a range of areas from telecommunications to artificial intelligence and electric vehicles.

But the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security estimates that by 2025, nearly 30 million manufacturing roles will go unfilled, nearly half of all jobs in the sector.

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