Shandong embraces 'craftsmanship spirit'

A worker oversees the production line at the Jinan plant of Sinotruk.[Photo by Zheng Tao/China Daily]

East China's Shandong province is looking to embrace the spirit of craftsmanship, noted by Premier Li Keqiang in his government work report this year, to boost its manufacturing industries through innovation and the making of high quality products.

"Shandong has a long history of carrying forward the craftsmanship spirit and boasts a large number of skilled craftsmen," said Wang Shinong, deputy director-general of Shandong Provincial Party Committee's publicity department.

"The craftsmanship spirit shall be inherited and used to ensure products made in our province are the best."

Wang was speaking at a ceremony to launch a group interview activity, focused on discovering craftsmanship in the province's manufacturing industries. The weeklong activity is scheduled to end on Friday.

Jinan-based Sinotruk, the biggest producer of heavy trucks in China, has set numerous quality procedures to control product quality.

"Each product has its own ID. Once a quality problem occurs, it can be traced back to the source and we can find out who is responsible for the problem," said Guo Hua of Sinotruk.

Shandong has also put efforts into cultivating technical students with craftsmanship spirit.

Zhang Gengling, deputy head of Qilu Institute of Technology, said that over the past three years more than 97 percent of the school's graduates have found work.

"We owe the high employment rate to education in the craftsmanship spirit," said Zhang.

Statistics from the Human Resources and Social Security Department of Shandong province show it had more than 9.21 million technically-skilled residents by the end of last year.