Technology and skills training to the fore in industrial push

China is stepping up efforts to cultivate a new generation of talent aligned with the country's strategic science and technology advances and evolving industry needs, the country's Education Minister, Huai Jinpeng, said after the opening meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress in Beijing on Wednesday.

The rapid emergence of new technologies, exemplified by the recent surge of interest in the large language model DeepSeek and robotics, show that technological revolutions and industrial transformations represent both a challenge and an opportunity for education reform, Huai said.

"We should focus on technological development and national strategic needs, enhance innovation capabilities, optimize higher education and adjust discipline structures and talent cultivation models," he said.

The Government Work Report, submitted to the national legislature for deliberation on Wednesday, underscores the need for a highly skilled workforce. It pledges to foster talent with expertise of strategic importance for the country and redouble efforts to nurture top-tier innovators and urgently needed personnel in key areas. 

To strengthen the integration of education, science and industry, China is expanding its Outstanding Engineer Education and Training program, with 40 national-level academies already established. More than 2,000 chief engineers and 10,000 enterprise engineers have worked with universities to co-develop curricula and mentor students, Huai said. 

China will accelerate the development of fundamental disciplines and emerging fields such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, new energy and new materials. The initiative to nurture top talent in mathematics, computer science and other core areas critical to technological innovation will be promoted, Huai said.

The ministry aims to establish demonstration zones for industry-education integration, drawing on the strengths of top-tier universities and research institutions, he said.

China is also revising its higher-education layout to improve discipline structures and adjust talent cultivation models, Huai said.

"Vocational education made a considerable contribution to the development of the country's modern manufacturing," he said.

About 70 percent of skilled workers in the sector come from vocational education programs, he said. 

"The education system should not only adapt but also appropriately stay ahead of technological changes," he added.

A national monitoring system will track supply and demand trends for students with different academic degrees, ensuring that education reforms keep pace with technological and industrial development, he said. 

China is committed to fostering talent that will drive scientific and technological innovation while contributing to national development and global progress, Huai said.