At a logistics center in Banan, Chongqing, warehouse workers are busy dispatching packages. (Photo/Chonqing Daily)

Chongqing - On Jan. 28, the fourth session of the sixth Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) held sectoral consultations on accelerating a development-oriented city for industrial workers. The city plans to better recognize workers’ skills by improving training, career pathways, pay and rights protection, while upgrading public services.

The push aligns with Chongqing’s drive to build a modern industrial system centered on advanced manufacturing and green growth, which demands a stronger skilled workforce. By improving career pathways and support, the city aims to retain talent and underpin high-quality development.

Vocational education is a top priority in Chongqing, supplying 70% of new workers for modern industries. The city now offers over 3,300 specialized programs and trains more than 300,000 skilled professionals each year.

As part of its upskilling infrastructure, Chongqing has established 70 artisan academies, launched 2,045 skill courses, and recorded a cumulative total of 1.05 million training participant hours. The city has also implemented reforms in skills evaluation, conducted 224,000 participant times of skills evaluations, and added 45,000 new highly skilled workers.

To better match industrial demand, Chongqing has added new programs in big data, artificial intelligence, and intelligent connected new-energy vehicles, raising the alignment between academic programs and industry needs to 89.05%.

The supply-demand gap for digital skills talent remains pronounced. At the consultations, members of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference proposed developing modular courses jointly with vocational colleges, leading enterprises, and digital technology service platforms, building curricula for areas such as smart manufacturing and the industrial internet, and introducing dedicated competency certification within the skills evaluation system.

The city is promoting a new eight-level professional title system to break career ceilings, backed by 5.68 million skilled workers, 32% of whom are high-skilled. Chongqing now counts 157 special-grade and five chief technicians—up 42% year on year—while proposals call for aligning skills with corporate job systems, enabling mutual recognition with technical professionals, and expanding support through fiscal incentives, tax breaks, and employment subsidies.

Fairer compensation and stronger protections for workers' rights are crucial to enhancing industrial workers' sense of fulfillment and belonging. Some enterprises face issues such as low wage levels and slow growth. Discussions proposed accelerating the establishment of a skill-oriented compensation system, directing wages toward frontline workers, and narrowing unreasonable internal disparities within enterprises.

Institutional tools for addressing wage arrears and employment support are advancing in tandem. Chongqing has integrated arrears resolution into its digital governance centers, enabling local jurisdictions. On the other hand, reforms that promote local employment and entrepreneurship for migrant workers have created 291,000 new local jobs and 68,000 returning entrepreneurs.

Public services and living convenience are also key. Chongqing's central urban areas have already planned 915 “15-minute living circles,” integrating public services like education, healthcare, and elderly care. The city’s 50 industrial parks host more than three million industrial workers, and suggestions raised in the consultations included improving amenities around rail transit stations, repurposing existing housing near parks into affordable rental units, and using vacant land to build pocket parks, lit sports courts, and worker libraries.