China's lack of skilled workers is hampering its development as one
of the world's manufacturing giants, China's first International
Machinery Manufacturing Exposition has heard.
Zeng Xiangquan, dean of the School of Labor Relations and Human
Resources under the Beijing-based People's University said that the
number of qualified technical workers had failed to keep pace with
manufacturing growth since China's accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
The latest statistics from the Ministry of Labor and Social
Security indicate that just 3.5 percent of China's 70 million
technical workers are classed as advanced-skills workers, compared
to about 40 percent in most developed countries.
The data also show that China urgently needs 600,000 numerical
controlling machine operators.
The lack of qualified workers had a negative impact on production,
with only 70 percent of Chinese products evaluated as up to
standard, and substandard products causing losses of 200 million
yuan (US$25 million) each year.
"In a bid to make Chinese products more competitive in the
international market, the country must put greater effort into
improving the quality of technical workers," Zeng said.
Zhang Shuguang, a research fellow of the Chinese Academy of Social
Sciences, said the situation was due to the fact that the Chinese
valued only academic qualifications and belittled a professional
education.
Under the country's 10th Five-Year (2001-2005) Plan, 20 percent of
its workers are to be trained as advanced technical workers who
will meet international standards.
Chen Yu, director of the Professional Qualification Identification
Center under the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, said global
cooperation should be encouraged to bring Chinese technical workers
up to international standards.
(
September 9, 2002)