News Analysis: China pays tribute to craftsmen with bid to host WorldSkills Competition

China's bid to host the 2021 WorldSkills Competition showcases the nation's respect for skilled workers and its emphasis on craftsmanship.

The city of Shanghai is in the running to host the 46th WorldSkills Competition in 2021, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said in a statement earlier this week.

China has a sound foundation for the bid given that the country organizes various vocational skill competitions every year and pays high attention to vocational training and the team building of skilled talent, the statement said.

China is among three contenders bidding for the right to hold the competition, along with Switzerland and South Africa.

The final decision will be voted on by WorldSkills International delegates in October 2017 at the General Assembly to be held in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Zhou Tianyong, professor at the Party School of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China's bid to host the competition reflects the significance it places on skilled workers and the determination to train more people with diversified vocational skills.

Although China has the world's largest population, it has been confronting a shortage of workers with advanced vocational skills, structural issues and a glut of workers in fields that no longer dovetail with the country's economic development needs.

Data from the ministry showed a severe shortage of skilled workers in China, with a lack of over 4 million senior technicians in the manufacturing sector alone.

For the industrial sector, a normal personnel structure is one scientist, 10 engineers and 100 skilled workers, said Chen Yu, deputy head of the China Association for Employment Promotion. "Scientists and engineers can be introduced from other countries, but there has never been any example for introducing a massive number of skilled workers."

As a large manufacturing nation seeking to upgrade industrially, China needs hundreds of millions of workers with various vocational knowledge and skills, Chen said, citing examples such as Germany, Japan and the United States, which all boast large numbers of skilled workers.

Prejudice against vocational education exists around the world, said President of WorldSkills International Simon Bartley, adding that at least 90 percent of parents are against their children giving up an academic higher education to choose vocational schools.

This is also the case in China, but ideas are gradually changing.

Tang Weiqun, head of the Guangzhou Industry and Trade Technician College, has seen such changes first hand.

"Vocational colleges have become the choice of more and more students with excellent academic performance, rather than merely the last resort for junior high school graduates who failed to qualify for senior middle schools," Tang said. "Graduates from the college are now well received by the job market with relatively high salaries."

In a government work report unveiled in March 2016, China for the first time stressed a "spirit of craftsmanship striving for the best."

The country has also moved to promote vocational training and raise the welfare of skilled workers. For example, the government offered a cash bonus of 200,000 yuan (29,950 U.S. dollars) for each of its gold medalists at the 43th WorldSkills Competition held last year.

WorldSkills dates back to 1950 when it was first held in Madrid of Spain. The biennial event seeks to raise the awareness and prestige of vocational and blue-collar professions. Endi