As a migrant worker, Li Weichao spent much of his youth shifting from one temp job to another, living thousands of miles away from his family to perform backbreaking labor for minimal pay. \u00a0The hours were long, the travel was tiring and the pay, while better than some, was just enough to get by.<\/p>\n
“I used to do manual work on construction sites, making around 300 yuan ($48) a day. I was always worried about finding my next job,” the 26-year-old from Henan province said.
\nBut his recent graduation from vocational school looks to change that. Receiving technical training as a chef, Li recently landed a stable job close to home working at a restaurant in Zhengzhou, capital city of Henan province. \u00a0“Since attending vocational training school to receive training, I think the days of worrying about my next job are over,” he says.<\/p>\n
As China loosens household registration restrictions to allow migrant workers to receive equal urban welfare, many like Li now seek to settle down in cities.
\nThe household registration system is tied to one’s place of residence and was set up in 1958 to control movement of rural population into cities. The system has prevented the country’s 269 million migrant workers from receiving the same public benefits as city dwellers and is widely believed to hold back urbanization and domestic consumption.
\nWith the restrictions changing as many as 100 million migrant workers are expected to become “real city dwellers” by 2020. \u00a0To ensure new residents can find stable jobs to afford city life, cities across the country are focusing on furthering vocational training for migrant workers.<\/p>\n
Li’s home province of Henan, the country’s most populated, has a work force of 49 million people. In 2009, Henan launched a province-wide campaign to strengthen the working skills of its residents by offering training programs.
\nBy the end of 2013, the programs helped train a total of 17.8 million people.<\/p>\n
Anhui province, another region with a strong work force, also adopted training programs to improve the skill set of its workers. In Anhui, these programs are currently offered not just by government, but schools, private institutions and businesses.<\/p>\n
Official statistics show that, since the new training programs, the average monthly income of Anhui’s migrant workers increased to 2,909 yuan – 300 yuan higher than the national average. \u00a0However, one survey found that only about 30 percent of China’s migrant workers have undergone vocational training. A lack of technical skills are the main obstacle preventing them from becoming urban and industrial workers, the survey found.
\nZhang Junjie, a political advisor from Anhui, has been studying the vocational training of migrant workers for years. His research reveals that most vocational training schools only provide old-fashioned courses such as computer, welding and hairdressing. Such courses are out of touch with the diverse needs of China’s changing job marketplace.
\nThe new programs include training in such skills as auto repair, molding for the manufacturing industry and heavy construction vehicle operation.<\/p>\n
According to a national plan on urbanization issued early this year, China will conduct vocational training for 10 million migrant workers a year starting from 2014 to 2020 with the goal of helping develop the nation acquire specific skills.<\/p>\n
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