During 12 to 13 July, the ILO successfully held Capacity Building Workshops on Quality Apprenticeship at Daqing oilfield, CNPC in collaboration with Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MOHRSS). Over 120 representatives from MOHRSS, China Enterprise Confederation (CEC), local bureaux of Human Resources and Social Security of pilot cities (Chongqing, Huzhou, Rizhao and Tianjin), pilot sector CNPC, pilot enterprises, pilot TVET institutions and national experts in vocational training/apprenticeship participated in the workshops. The live streaming of the workshops had almost 43,000 viewers.

In the opening remarks, Deputy Director-General of International Cooperation Department, MOHRSS Ms. Xiaoqian QIAN acclaimed the substantial progress the project has achieved so far. She underlined that promoting quality apprenticeship and cultivating skilled workers are highlights in the 14th National Five-Year Plan. She encouraged all pilot organizations to actively participate in project piloting activities to enhance capacities and contribute more insights and good practices on Chinese apprenticeship to the ILO standard setting on apprenticeships in the near future. Quality Apprenticeship Global Team Leader and Senior Skills and Employability Specialist, ILO Headquarters Mr. Ashwani AGGARWAL briefed the impact of COVID-19 on vocational training, particularly work-based learning and youth worldwide. He stressed that ILO is determined to invest in people to enhance their capacities and resilience by improving systems of skill development and lifelong learning. ‘Quality Apprenticeship and Lifelong Learning in China’ project is making solid efforts to this goal by contributing to apprenticeship and lifelong learning in China.

The first workshop included both global experience and national good practices. Mr. Guan Teck HENG, Deputy CEO of Institute of Technical Education (ITE), Singapore comprehensively introduced the vocational education system and SkillsFuture Initiative in Singapore. He also presented ITE’s work-study programme. He emphasized a ‘Hands-on, Minds-on, Hearts-on’ education philosophy and also an active collaboration with industries and employers. Dr. Susan JAMES RELLY, Associate Professor and Director of SKOPE, University of Oxford provided an introduction to UK apprenticeship development, including effective employer engagement, Apprenticeship Levy and World Skills Competition’s impact on vocational training. 4 national experts in vocational training from CNPC shared recent development and progress in CNPC’s vocational training. They respectively talked about the national standard setting on apprenticeship from the perspective of the oil industry, South-South cooperation in apprenticeship, the pilot of using a training credit bank and digital skill development in vocational training.

The second workshop was structured as two parts. The first part concentrated on best practices in apprenticeship from foreign enterprises in China. How to integrate global good experience into the Chinese context is always an important question. Three experts from Festo, Bosch and Sino-German Vocational Institute of Jinan Vocational College who’re veteran in implementing German dual-system vocational training in China presented their first-hand experience. After presentations, Mr. Xiaochu DAI, Deputy Director of ILO Country Office for China and Mongolia hosted a panel discussion to promote exchanges among experts on what the challenges are and how to tackle challenges in the implementation of vocational training in China. Complementarily, Ms. Britta BUSCHFELD, Director of Vocational Training of German Chambers of Commerce Worldwide Network (AHK) - Greater China further enhanced participants’ understanding of what German dual vocational education is about and best practices in Sino-German cooperation in this area.

The second part was an on-site study tour. Participants visited the skilled master studio of Li LIU and Daqing Oilfield Training Credit Bank. In the studio of Li LIU’s, participants had fruitful discussions with Li LIU’s team and gained a first-hand understanding of how a skilled worker upskills herself and imparts skills to apprentices. In Daqing Oilfield Training Credit Bank, participants had the direct experience in what they learned on the first day. The training credit bank is an innovative measure for lifelong vocational training and learning which performs a variety of functions. It can help learners open lifelong learning accounts, assemble quality learning resources and recommend them to targeted learners based on data analysis, store, transfer and certify learning results, and establish large databases on skilled workforce. The training credit bank serves to record workers’ continual skill development and enables employers to gain insights on skill anticipation and matching. It is on trial in the oil industry now and will possibly be implemented nationwide in the future.

A series of Capacity Building Workshops on Quality Apprenticeship organized by the project since 2020 provide an effective platform to share experience and collect exemplars in quality apprenticeship and lifelong learning. Based on needs of pilot organizations, subsequent workshops will be held to strengthen practitioners’ capacities in apprenticeship and vocational training in China.