The second Vocational Skills Competition of the People's Republic of China will 
be held from September 16 to 19 in north China's port city of Tianjin 
Municipality.

The competition seeks to encourage more professionals to sharpen their skills 
to contribute to the country's development. It has 62 contests to select 
candidates for the world vocational skills competition and 47 localized 
contests, with more than 4,000 applicants, according to the organizing 
committee.

The 109 contests cover six major fields, including transportation and 
logistics, structure and building technology, manufacturing and engineering 
technology, information and communication technology, creative art and fashion, 
and social and personal services. They will be held in the National Convention 
& Exhibition Center (Tianjin) and three other venues.

The competition has added 20 competitions for new professions and digital 
technology skills, such as artificial intelligence training, virtual reality 
engineering technology, blockchain application operation and other items.

As a role model for the innovation and development of vocational education in 
the new era, Tianjin has been strengthening the development of skilled 
personnel and improving the skill level of workers in a bid to stabilize 
employment, increase employee income, and promote economic transformation and 
upgrading.

With the positioning as an advanced manufacturing R&D base, Tianjin has stepped 
up efforts in the development of a modern industrial system made up by sectors 
of intelligent technology, biomedicine, new energy, new materials, aerospace, 
equipment manufacturing, petrochemical industry and automobile. A project to 
cultivate local talents have been implemented with constant supportive policies 
to nurture skilled personnel.

Tianjin now is home to 2.73 million skilled personnel, including 840,000 highly 
skilled personnel, accounting for 30.8 percent of the total.

Among them, seven people have claimed national honors for professional skills, 
and 226 people are national-level professional personnel. Forty people have 
gained the top talent titles in Tianjin, and 657 people are recognized as local 
masters in specific skills. In addition, 67 excellent professionals enjoy the 
special allowance for talents given by the country's State Council.

Source: The Organizing Committee of the Second Vocational Skills Competition