Lighting up the "Light of Skills": Tianjin strives to build a new highland for cultivating skilled talents

Author: Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Wu Liming, Shao Xiangyun, Liu Weizhen, Wang Hui

In September of the golden autumn, the second National Skills Competition will start in Tianjin. 4045 contestants from 36 delegations across the country compete for medals in 109 events. 58 year old "Teacher Fu" and 16 year old "Little Craftsman", with master's and doctoral degrees, compete on the same stage as enterprise employees. The competition will conclude on September 19th, and the champions of each event will be announced.

On September 16th, at the opening ceremony of the competition, the Tianjin delegation entered. Photo by Zhao Zishuo, journalist from Xinhua News Agency

School enterprise co education, integration of industry and education, and cultivation of craftsmen - As the only national modern vocational education reform and innovation demonstration zone in China, Tianjin continuously constructs a new pattern of integration of industry and education, accelerates the pace of cultivating high skilled talents, cultivates a group of new era craftsmen who love their jobs, strive for excellence, cooperate and progress together, and strive to let the light of skills illuminate the path of high-quality development.

On September 16th, the audience visited the exhibition and exchange event of the competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ran

Building a platform, schools and enterprises work together to cultivate skilled experts

Recently, the reporter visited the Enterprise Training Center of Tianjin Jinqiao Welding Materials Group Co., Ltd. The welding training area was bustling with steel splashes. Zhu Qianrui was skillfully operating the machine, with a confident and composed expression on his face.

As a graduate of the Metal Materials Engineering major at Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Technology, Zhu Qianrui first came here for observation and internship two years ago under the organization of the school, and entered the world of "metal sewing masters". A series of training courses such as manual welding and robot programming have filled him with enthusiasm for welding work. After graduation, he successfully entered the company to work.

Entering the training area again, Zhu Qianrui's identity has been transformed into a management trainee for the company. "I have learned a lot of practical skills here and hope to enter the company's technology research and development position in the future, becoming an outstanding 'great country craftsman'," said Zhu Qianrui.

"The model of 'dual teacher mentorship and alternating training between enterprises and schools' is beneficial for vocational colleges to improve curriculum applicability and talent matching, timely and effectively grasp market talent demand, and also reduce training costs for enterprises, allowing employees to better master the knowledge and vocational skills required for employment." said Wan Xiaoyu, Manager of the Human Resources Department of Tianjin Jinqiao Welding Materials Group Co., Ltd.

New employees of Tianjin Jinqiao Welding Materials Group Co., Ltd. are practicing in the welding training area of the enterprise training center. Photo by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Liu Weizhen

The "14th Five Year Plan" for the development of technical education in Tianjin has been formulated and issued, encouraging teachers and students from technical colleges to participate in practical activities such as enterprise technological innovation and new product development, and supporting technical colleges to establish new majors such as Internet of Things application technology and industrial robot application and maintenance. In recent years, Tianjin's human resources and social security departments have continuously explored and focused on regional economic development and industrial optimization and upgrading, attracting enterprises to enter schools, deepening the integration of industry and education, and school enterprise cooperation, continuously improving the matching degree between majors and industries, and cultivating and delivering high-quality technical and skilled talents.

Wu Liguo, Director of the Vocational Capacity Building Department of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security, said that with a focus on promoting employment and guiding teaching through employment, we support technical colleges such as Tianjin Institute of Mechanical and Electrical Technology and Tianjin Institute of Electronic Information Technology, and establish enterprise order classes with well-known domestic and foreign enterprises such as Otis Elevator Company to jointly cultivate technical and skilled talents. This training model fully embodies the production environment, work mode, and technical standards of enterprises in technical education and teaching, achieving seamless connection of talents from schools to enterprises.

Nowadays, many local enterprises and vocational colleges in Tianjin are cultivating students side by side, tasting the sweetness of cooperation. Tiandi Weiye Technology Co., Ltd., a provider of intelligent security solutions, highly recognizes this training model and has specifically approached Tianjin Mechanical and Electrical Vocational and Technical College to seek deep cooperation in talent cultivation.

Xue Chao, CTO and Senior Vice General Manager of Tiandi Weiye Technology Co., Ltd., said that the company not only dispatched technical experts to participate in the development of talent training plans for IoT application technology, the design of core course teaching content, and the practical training of key courses, but also adopted a collaborative training method of "cognitive internship+on-the-job internship+job internship", allowing enterprise internships to run through the entire student curriculum.

"Now, more than 40 graduates from Tianjin Mechanical and Electrical Vocational and Technical College are working in core positions such as company management, planning, procurement, and personnel." Xue Chao said that these high-quality employees who understand technology, are good at learning, can be used well, and can be retained are the "winning magic weapon" of the enterprise.

"We need to continuously strengthen the fundamental role of vocational colleges in cultivating high skilled talents, and strive to provide skilled and innovative talents for social development." Wang Qianwen, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Mechanical and Electrical Vocational and Technical College, said that by jointly innovating talent training methods with enterprises, the school has achieved a "double improvement" in the implementation rate and retention rate of graduates in 2023.

Students from Tianjin Mechanical and Electrical Vocational and Technical College are currently practicing hands-on activities on campus. Photo by Xinhua Daily Telegraph reporter Liu Weizhen

Solving difficult problems, integrating industry and education to seek innovative paths

Entering the Rongcheng Group Smart Center, employees are closely monitoring the various processes of steel production through surveillance footage; On the huge screen of the big data platform not far away, the production trend, technical indicators, carbon emissions, and other information are clear at a glance. Previously, steel production often relied on human experience, but now, through digital transformation, factories have gradually achieved fully intelligent production.

The transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing enterprises cannot be separated from scientific research empowerment. In October 2021, Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Technology and Tianjin Rongcheng United Steel Group Co., Ltd. and other enterprises jointly established Tianjin Metal Materials and Quality Management Engineering Modern Industry College, embarking on an innovative journey of deep integration of industry and education.

In the first symposium after the establishment of the college, Tianjin Rongcheng United Steel Group Co., Ltd. proposed a long-standing challenge for enterprises - to build an intelligent rating system for scrap steel.

Scrap steel treatment is one of the important production processes in steel enterprises. In the past, scrap steel inspection mainly relied on manual labor, which was prone to errors and affected the production efficiency and quality of the industry. "To solve the problem, both the school and the enterprise reached an agreement and immediately began to develop an intelligent scrap steel rating system suitable for enterprises," said Yan Liwen, Dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Technology.

Under the leadership of teachers, many students also participate in the process of research and innovation. Miao Kui, a master's student responsible for preprocessing, feature extraction, and data annotation of scrap steel image data in the project, said that after scientific research experience, he has gained a better understanding of the applications in industrial automation and artificial intelligence, improved his professional knowledge and skills, and also added a lot of color to his job application resume upon graduation.

After more than a year of data collection, software development, and practical optimization, a system that relies on machine vision to select points, achieve real-time human-machine interaction, and automatically determine the grade of scrap steel has been officially launched. Preliminary estimates suggest that the system can help businesses save nearly 100 million yuan in costs annually.

"Vocational education must serve regional economy and industry enterprises." Yan Liwen said that universities are targeting the transformation and upgrading needs of advantageous industries in the Beijing Tianjin Hebei region under the background of intelligent manufacturing, actively carrying out disciplinary construction based on the enterprise industry chain, and carrying out collaborative innovation around key issues of technological innovation in the new materials industry, effectively exploring new paths for applied universities to serve national and regional development.

"The cooperation between schools and enterprises has not only helped us overcome technological barriers, but also significantly reduced R&D and equipment costs compared to industry costs, fully demonstrating the superiority of industry education integration." said Shang Kaitao, Director of the Human Resources Department of Tianjin Rongcheng United Steel Group Co., Ltd. The company is also preparing to further carry out technological breakthroughs, product research and development, and achievement transformation.

The deep integration of industry and education is gradually yielding fruitful results. At the 7th World Intelligent Conference held this year, the "smart dancers" who were able to climb up and down and operate freely on power towers attracted the attention of many viewers.

On September 16th, the contestant participated in the industrial robot system operation project competition. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ran

"This tower assembly robot based on biomimetic design and artificial intelligence concepts can climb power towers and complete tower operations without the assistance of high-altitude workers." Project leader and teacher at Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Technology, Liu Zhidong, introduced that this is a technological innovation project undertaken by the school for State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company.

In recent years, Tianjin has carried out technological research and development through the "unveiling and leading" mechanism, paving the way for cooperation between schools and enterprises. In 2021, after State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company announced the research and development demand for the "Intelligent Tower Assembly Robot Project", Liu Zhidong, who has long been interested in the field of intelligent robots, "responded to the announcement" and formed an interdisciplinary technical team.

State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company dispatched more than ten people to the school to jointly carry out technical research and development. At present, the tower assembly robot has completed prototype development and a series of testing experiments. In the first half of this year, it also "walked" to outdoor construction sites and completed the application of robot tower assembly operations. "Although the project is about to end this year, the cooperation between schools and enterprises has not stopped," said Zhou Changxin, Director of the Science and Technology Department of State Grid Tianjin Electric Power Company.

Moreover, in order to encourage enterprises to participate in the establishment of vocational colleges and promote collaborative innovation and achievement transformation led by enterprises, Tianjin has selected and recognized 193 industry education integrated enterprises.

"The integration of industry and education, as well as the integration of science and education, is a necessary path to promote the high-quality development of vocational education and an important endogenous mechanism to stimulate social innovation." The relevant person in charge of Tianjin Sino German University of Applied Technology stated that only by bridging the "overpass" between industrial demand and university supply, and linking the talent chain, innovation chain, and industrial chain, can we better contribute to enhancing economic and industrial competitiveness and technological innovation capabilities.

Spread the "firewood" and broaden the stage to cultivate the "master of craftsmanship"

The high-quality vocational education system calls for high-quality "dual teacher" teachers. As a national demonstration zone for modern vocational education reform and innovation, Tianjin has made efforts to innovate the training mode of vocational education teachers, cultivating a group of high-quality "craftsmen" who can go up the podium, down the workshop, and do scientific research.

At Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University, breaking the "wall" of classroom education and professional colleges, and equipping students with "double mentors" and "three mentors" both on and off campus, learning knowledge and skills during internship practice has become the norm in talent cultivation at the university.

In a classroom at Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University, teachers and international students exchange ideas with each other. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ran

On the weekend, Liu Fucong, a teacher from the School of Mechanical Engineering at Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University, drove a car to pick up several master's students and headed straight to Tianjin First Machine Tool Co., Ltd. to accompany them to "find their feelings". Reading design drawings, learning machining and assembly... Students are full of interest and observe carefully. Enterprise employees also treat students as "their own people", warmly greet and patiently explain.

"The production workshop of a company is an immersive laboratory for students," Liu Fucong said, taking students to the company at least two or three times a week.

In recent years, Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University has established a curriculum system for deep integration of industry and education, with cross curriculum, enterprise practice, educational practice, and skill training as carriers. It takes into account both academic innovation ability and professional practice ability, and tailors high-level "dual teacher" professional leaders to adapt to and lead innovative development for vocational colleges.

In order to adapt to the trend of industrial development, Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University has also added many new majors, including data science and big data technology, intelligent manufacturing engineering, and new energy vehicle engineering. By dynamically adjusting the professional structure, it achieves the "five industry linkage" of industry, industry, enterprise, profession, and profession.

"It is our duty to cultivate urgently needed high-level 'dual teacher' vocational teachers for the country." Zhang Jingang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tianjin Vocational and Technical Normal University, said that the university will continue to promote the effective connection between the professional chain, talent chain, and industrial chain, and support the high-quality development of vocational education in the new era with the establishment of a vocational education teacher team.

As the highest award for skilled talents in Tianjin, "Haihe Craftsman" mainly selects high skilled talents who are dedicated, striving for excellence, and pursuing excellence from key areas such as strategic emerging industries, pillar industries, and modern service industries in Tianjin, and rewards them in accordance with relevant regulations. Tianjin selects 10 "Haihe Craftsmen" every year, and so far, 40 have been selected.

Cheng Weidong is inspecting the "horizontal transportation robot" at the intelligent container terminal of Section C in the North Xinjiang Port Area of Tianjin Port. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Ran

Cheng Weidong, Deputy Leader of the Leading Team of Tianjin Port First Port Co., Ltd., was one of the recipients of the first "Haihe Craftsman" honorary title. With superb skills, he has embarked on a brilliant path of skill development. Cheng Weidong led his team members to focus on their positions and overcome difficulties, carrying out 200 technological innovations such as "dust prevention device for tractor cab" and "LNG tractor gas supply device", creating economic benefits of over 100 million yuan. Among them, 38 technological innovation projects have obtained national utility model patents.

Build one national level public training center, 18 national level high skilled talent training bases, and 45 municipal level high skilled talent training bases; There are 2.73 million skilled talents, of which 840000 are highly skilled talents, accounting for 30.8%; A large number of technical role models and "great country craftsmen" such as Zhang Liming and Cheng Weidong have emerged... Now, Tianjin has gradually become a "new highland" for cultivating skilled talents.

"Tianjin will continue to anchor the functional positioning of 'one base and three zones', continuously deepen the integration of industry and education, improve the level of cooperation, gradually increase the participation of industry enterprises in education, integrate policy measures, innovate institutional mechanisms, optimize resource allocation, gather multiple forces, cultivate a large number of high-quality skilled talents, and provide strong support for the high-quality development of Tianjin," said Shen Chao, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security.