The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security issued the "Skills Enhancement Year Action Plan" on March 30 to strengthen the training of urgently needed skilled workers.

The plan, aligned with the municipal government's 2026 "skills enhancement year" initiative and the upcoming 48th WorldSkills Competition, covers skills training in key sectors, new occupations, and reform of the vocational training and skills evaluation system.

I. Expanding skilled talent training in key sectors

(1) Execute large-scale, high-quality vocational skills training

- Focus on market demand and vocational skill requirements in key areas such as artificial intelligence, integrated circuits, biomedicine, elderly care, and domestic services, and emphasize key groups such as college graduates and registered unemployed individuals.

- Work with relevant industry authorities to advance skills talent development in key fields through tailored sector-specific measures, while promoting a project-based model integrating job demand, skills training, skills assessment, and employment services.

- Revise and improve training subsidy policies, such as targeted training and apprenticeship training, to enhance the efficiency of fund utilization.

- Cater to the training needs of various groups, explore new models of vocational skills training such as night schools and internet-driven programs.

- Provide 650,000 person-times of subsidized vocational skills training in 2026.

(2) Enhance the training of urgently needed high-skilled talent

- Conduct supply and demand forecasts for high-skilled talent in key industries, and update the list of urgently needed high-skilled talent occupations.

- Guided by the list of urgently needed high-skilled occupations and the catalogue of vocational skills upgrading subsidies, encourage training institutions to carry out training and guide workers to participate in training programs aligned with industrial development directions.

- Encourage enterprises to utilize employee training policies, organize internal training, or entrust employee vocational training to improve their skill levels.

- Add 60,000 high-skilled workers with skills evaluation certificates at the senior-worker level or above in 2026.

(3) Promote the training and certification of 'AI Promoters'

- Implement the "AI Promoter" initiative to equip people across sectors with AI skills and strengthen AI literacy among the public.

- Based on new developments in the AI industry, update training standards and assessment question banks, explore online and offline combined training models, and organize the training and assessment of AI Promoters.

- Explore on-the-job drills and skills competitions for AI Promoters to further boost public participation.

- Complete the training and certification for 50,000 AI Promoters in 2026.

(4) Improve the top-level design for skilled talent cultivation

- Accelerate the legislative work for skilled talent development, conduct legislative research among enterprises, institutions, and the public, listen to opinions and suggestions from all sides, and continue to improve the legislative draft.

- Conduct in-depth research, formulate and issue a special plan for high-skilled talent development under the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), and define the goals, tasks, and measures for skilled talent development in the city during the period.

II. Promoting new vocational skills training projects

(5) Promote new occupations and standards

- Implement a regular citywide mechanism for collecting new occupations in line with national planning requirements for fostering emerging industries and planning for future industries.

- Leverage the National Public Employment Service Regional Center (Shanghai) to provide regional support for the national selection of new occupations and the development of occupational standards.

(6) Promote pilot projects for special vocational ability programs

- Follow the development trends of new technologies, new business forms, and new models.

- For areas not yet covered by vocational qualification certification or vocational skill level recognition at the national level, collaborate with competent authorities to develop special vocational ability programs.

(7) Build a standard system for new skills training projects

- Support leading companies in industrial chains in launching pilot new skills training programs.

- Focusing on new technologies, new business forms, new models, and the demand for skill updates driven by new processes, new materials, and new equipment, develop multiple new skills training projects along with supporting standards.

- Encourage enterprises to organize new skills training sessions.

III. Improving the quality and efficiency of training services

(8) Cultivate high-quality training institutions

- Empower vocational skills training institutions and increase the supply of market-oriented training resources.

- Promote the cultivation of leading brands in vocational training to form a training brand matrix across the city.

- Optimize the management and service mechanism for vocational skills training institutions, promote cross-departmental comprehensive supervision, and implement hierarchical and classified management.

- Enhance the overall quality and instructional capabilities of teaching staff, while providing teachers with comprehensive training and professional development opportunities.

(9) Strengthen the training service capacity

- Establish a team of vocational training instructors that will provide integrated vocational training services for key groups.

- Establish a team of vocational training specialists to serve various types of employers and promote the supply-demand connection.

- Broaden the channels for training services. Leverage public employment service platforms at all levels and vocational skills training institutions, strengthen resource integration, broaden easily accessible vocational training services, and provide support for workers to improve their job skills.

(10) Strengthen high-skilled talent training platforms

- Promote the transformation and upgrading of public training bases, optimize functional layouts, and facilitate cooperative training projects.

- Revise and improve the city's management measures for accrediting high-skilled talent training bases, and establish a sound long-term mechanism for managing their operational performance.

- Support leading enterprises, vocational colleges, and other institutions to build high-skilled talent training bases in industries that lack such talent, and provide funding for the construction of key projects.

- Promote a coordinated, category-based management model at the municipal and district levels, and continue to guide and track national- and municipal-level high-skilled talent training base funding projects.

IV. Optimizing the skills assessment system for talent development

(11) Promote skill level recognition

- Support enterprises in independently executing skilled talent assessments while expanding the assessment scope.

- Expand social skill assessment projects, support qualified institutions in registering as official skill assessment bodies to evaluate the proficiency of graduating students, and encourage these institutions to offer skill assessment services to the broader public.

(12) Optimize the assessment system

- Further delegate authority to and empower enterprises, and continue to promote direct enterprise assessment.

- Improve and promote the new eight-grade skilled worker system among enterprises, and support enterprises in the appraisal and appointment of special-grade technicians and chief technicians.

- Continue to promote the model under which participants can earn both a vocational skill level certificate and an authoritative enterprise-issued skills certificate through a single test.

- Promote pilot projects in institutions for course-certificate integration, combining occupational standards and job skill requirements with education and training.

- Update and release the catalogue for comparative recognition of overseas occupational qualifications.

- Promote integrated career development pathways for skilled talent and professional and technical talent in enterprises.

(13) Launch vocational skills competitions at all levels

- Optimize the organization and supervision of the city's vocational skills competitions.

- Ensure support for the centralized assessment of the Chinese national training team for the 48th WorldSkills Competition.

- As part of preparations for the 49th WorldSkills Competition and the 4th National Skills Competition, hold the Shanghai qualifying competition for the WorldSkills events of the 4th National Skills Competition.

- Organize municipal special skills competitions in key areas, programs, and projects.

- Update and release the city's monthly themed competition plan in a timely manner, organize industry and regional competitions, expand the number of question-bank items, and encourage broader participation.

V. Increasing incentives and guarantees for high-skilled talent

(14) Identify and recognize leading high-skilled talent

- Encourage enterprises to establish a system of chief technician and master technician studios, select leaders in skill inheritance and technical exchange, support and encourage high-skilled experts to manage teams, teach apprentices, and participate in major production decisions, technological innovation, and technical research.

- Select and fund municipal chief technicians and master technician studios, and recommend candidates for national master technician studios and the 17th recognition program for highly skilled talent.

(15) Promote the skill-based talent salary distribution system

- Encourage enterprises to negotiate and determine salary levels with skilled talent.

- Implement annual salary systems and negotiated salary systems.

- Reward high-skilled talent who have made outstanding contributions to technological innovation.

- Guide enterprises to establish a skill-based talent salary distribution system based on job value, individual ability and quality, and performance contribution.

(16) Create a sound social atmosphere

- Leverage various media platforms, especially new media, to tell stories of skilled talent and create a social atmosphere that values, cares for, and respects them.

- Carry out themed publicity campaigns in connection with key tasks such as practical projects for the public, high-skilled talent selection and commendation, and district-specific work.

- Promote a culture of skills, and continue to enhance the brand influence and social impact of youth skills experience activities.

- Organize more than 20 skills experience activities in 2026.

 

Appendix: List of 2025 Shanghai High-skilled Talent Training Bases

	Base	Supervisory authority	District
1	Shanghai Baiqiu Shangmei Technology Service Group	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce	Changning
2	Shanghai Nanhu Vocational and Technical College	Hongkou District Education Bureau	Hongkou
3	Shanghai Technical Institute of Electronics & Information	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education	Fengxian
4	Shanghai Vocational College of Construction Management	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Housing and Urban-Rural Development	Qingpu
5	Shanghai Kechuang Vocational and Technical College	Songjiang District Education Bureau	Songjiang
6	Shanghai Donghai Vocational and Technical College	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education	Minhang
7	Shanghai Minhang Vocational and Technical College	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education	Minhang
8	Shanghai Sanda University	Shanghai Municipal Commission of Education	Pudong
9	Shanghai Vocational College of Science and Technology	Jiading District Education Bureau	Jiading

 

Source: Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security