A social worker checks an old man's blood pressure at a residential community in Changchun, Northeast China's Jilin province. [Photo/Xinhua]

China has set a target of training 1.45 million social workers by 2020 to promote the country's social services, a social work administration official said on Monday, one day before World Social Work Day.

"To fill the gap, we are going to work with educational departments to encourage more universities to open social work programs and to recruit more students," said Huang Shengwei, deputy director-general of the Department of Social Work at the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

Training more young professionals will strengthen the foundation of social work in China, Huang added.

Premier Li Keqiang said while delivering the Government Work Report that the government will support the development of professional social work, volunteer service and philanthropy.

By the end of last year, China had about 500,000 social workers, but it needs more experienced and professional social workers. For example, the new law against domestic violence, which took effect on March 1, stresses the important role of professional social workers.

Nearly 30,000 college students graduate from social work programs every year in China. About 70 senior vocational colleges provide degrees, 321 universities provide a bachelor's degree, and 104 universities and research institutes provide degrees above master's level.

"It is a big leap from 10 years ago, but we hope the number of college graduates (majoring in social work) will rise to 40,000 and even 50,000 each year," Huang said.

Another strategy is to encourage current unlicensed social workers to take the national social workers' exam to gain a professional license, Huang said.