Beijing, 27 November 2025 - The Seminar on Innovative Development of Industrial Workers Training was held. The event brought together over 50 representatives from open universities, conventional higher education institutions and enterprises. In attendance were JIANG Wenliang, former Deputy Head and First-Class Inspector of the Department of Labour and Economy of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions; LI Song, Vice President of the Open University of China (OUC); and XU Lu, Deputy Director of the Continuing Education Division, Department of Vocational and Adult Education, Ministry of Education. The seminar was presided over by GU Xiaohua, Director of the Academic Affairs Department of OUC.

In his address, LI Song highlighted OUC’s achievements in leveraging its open education system to assist industrial workers in fulfilling their academic aspirations. He emphasised OUC’s commitment to creating a smart and efficient lifelong learning ecosystem, establishing a robust industry-education talent development system, expanding an inclusive learning-services network and contributing its unique strength to the development of a high-quality industrial workforce. 

Representatives from the Open University of Fujian, Zhejiang University of Technology, Luzhou Vocational and Technical College, CATL, and other organisations shared their insights on industrial workforce development pathways, university-enterprise collaboration models and corporate talent requirements. Representatives from OUC branches in Hubei, Sichuan, Hunan, Jiangxi, Chongqing, Shenyang and Zhejiang, as well as from North China Electric Power University and other institutions, also participated in the discussion. They shared practical experiences and best practices in strengthening the industrial workforce.

The seminar served as a crucial platform for implementing national strategies on industrial workforce development. Participants resolved to use the seminar’s outcomes as a springboard for optimising development pathways and innovating training models, advancing the development of a high-quality industrial workforce that meets regional needs.

Photos by CHEN Siming, Chinese Journal of Distance Education