Job initiatives address labor market imbalances

Upskilling

In Guangdong, the nation's manufacturing epicenter, the strategy has focused heavily on upskilling. The province created nearly 1.5 million new urban jobs in 2025, largely supported by its industry-educationevaluation skills ecosystem. Rather than just training students, the program trains the educators.

Recently, nearly 100 teachers from dozens of technical schools underwent intensive retraining at robotics hubs like Kuka Autonomous Mobile Robotics in Foshan to align classroom curricula directly with modern factory floor demands.

Lin Lishan, a teacher from Guangdong Technician Institute, said through the program, she has further clarified the path for intelligent manufacturing professional development, updated her teaching concepts, and improved her course development and practical teaching abilities.

Huang Qiongying from Guangzhou Electronic Commerce Technical School described herself as a translator between industry and education."As front-line teachers, we are not just knowledge transmitters but translators between industry and education. This training was not just an update of knowledge but a journey of teaching transformation," she said.

Guangdong has also launched the "million talent heading for Guangdong" initiative, which has attracted more than 1.1 million college graduates to the province for work and entrepreneurship.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Guangdong provided over 10 million subsidized vocational training sessions, according to the provincial government.

Guangdong creates around 300,000 policy-supported jobs annually and holds more than 2,000 online and offline recruitment events. Graduates facing difficulties receive one-on-one assistance, the government said.

The province also works to stabilize employment for migrant workers. Through interprovincial labor cooperation, Guangdong has helped secure jobs for more than 24 million out-of-province migrant workers, including over 4.6 million people who have been lifted out of poverty, it added.

Contact the writers at zoushuo@chinadaily.com.cn