South-South Technical Workshop ‘Promoting Skills and Employment for Decent Work in Rural Development’ and Expert Workshop on Quality Apprenticeship held in Huzhou

Huzhou(ILO News)-From 21-22 May 2024, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China (MOHRSS) jointly organized the South-South Technical Workshop ‘Promoting Skills and employment for Decent Work in Rural Development’ in Huzhou city of Zhejiang Province. Over 150 participants attended the Workshop in person and online, including senior officials from MOHRSS and Huzhou Municipal People's Government, representatives from key stakeholders on skills development and employment from China, the ASEAN Secretariat, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia and Thailand, global and national technical experts, and representatives of project pilot institutions from eight pilot cities and two pilot sectors. On 23 May, the ILO and MOHRSS co-organized an expert workshop where national experts of the project discussed the development of two tools on apprenticeship in China.

This South-South Technical Workshop is one important component of the Quality Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning in China Project Phase 2. The project collaborated with two ILO projects ‘Promoting the Global Development Initiative with a Focus on South-South Cooperation in Employment in ASEAN’ and ‘ILO/China Partnership Programme on Strengthening Skills Development in Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Myanmar’ supported by MOHRSS. The Workshop aims to strengthen international exchanges on skills development and employment through South-South and Triangular Cooperation, enhance mutual learning among developing countries on how to promote employment and revitalize rural economy through skills development, and share innovative practices from governments, enterprises and TVET schools.

In the opening remarks, Deputy Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia, Xiaochu DAI introduced the ILO and its efforts to advance rural employment and skills development. He emphasized that rural economies have immense potential to generate decent productive jobs and alleviate poverty. Now digital and green transition are reshaping rural economies significantly. Responsive upskilling and reskilling can lead to quality employment and empower rural economy. In pursuit of rural development and decent work, China and ASEAN member countries have formulated ambitious strategies and are exploring innovative practices. The ILO remains actively engaged in collaboration with member states by offering technical assistance and facilitating international knowledge-sharing initiatives.

The Vice Mayor of Huzhou Municipal People’s Government, Jianding XIA expressed Huzhou’s commitment to fostering an enabling environment for entrepreneurship and talent cultivation in both urban and rural areas. Huzhou is determined to advance enterprise-school collaboration for effective skills development and promote a win-win growth for both workers and employers. By doing this can the city achieve quality employment and living standards. Mr. XIA sincerely hoped that Huzhou experience would contribute more Chinese wisdom to the global knowledge on enhancing employment and skills in rural development.

The Workshop included four technical sessions ‘Policy strategies on employment and vocational skilling in rural development’, ‘Skills development for rural decent employment - national experience sharing’, ‘Empowering skills development and public employment services (PES) with digitalization’ and ‘Rural development in the green transition: greening skills and employment for rural prosperity’ and relevant on-site visits. On the first day, experts from the ILO, MOHRSS, and the ASEAN Secretariat gave comprehensive overviews of supporting strategies and policies for employment promotion and vocational training in rural development. Representatives from governments, enterprises, and TVET schools of various countries introduced their proven measures of vocational training and PES in rural areas as well as sharing their respective challenges. They also shared their in-depth insights on the current twin transition – digital transition and green transition - in boosting decent rural employment and skills development.

On the second day, participants visited Noblelift Intelligent Equipment Co.,Ltd. and Changxing Technician College located in Changxing County. These entities collaborate as partners in the implementation of apprenticeship training. The participants also visited a PES center in Hongmiao village, the ‘Deep Blue’ rural youth entrepreneurship progamme and a youth employment and entrepreneurship community ‘Qinglaiji’ in Anji county. As a pilot TVET institution of the Project Phase 1 and 2, Changxing Technician College actively participates in tool development and capacity building activities on quality apprenticeship. College experts and teachers integrated ILO methodologies into their training programmes, which achieved solid positive results. During the visit, the college was officially awarded ‘Huzhou Municipal Apprenticeship Research Center’ by Huzhou Municipal People’s Government, serving as a pioneering institution to enhance apprenticeship in the city.

On 23 May, the technical expert group of the project continued to discuss the development of two tools on apprenticeship in China. The ILO and MOHRSS are currently working together on developing guides on the training of in-company trainers in apprenticeship and the industry-education integration. National experts from different sectors offered comments and suggestions to guide outlines and sample chapters for further improvement.