A night school for migrant workers turned Yi Guangmu from a
peasant into a backbone technician of his company.
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"Thanks to the training offered by the school, I became the head of
our team for water and electricity installment," said Yi, who works
at the Chengdu Construction Corporation in southwestern China's Sichuan
Province.
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Yi bought a 60-sqare-meter apartment in Chengdu, capital city of
the province, and now enjoys a salary of 3,000 yuan (about US$360)
per month.
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"The training not only helps increase the salaries of migrant
workers but also the quality of our construction projects," said
Zhang Jun, general manager of the company.
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Since the first night school launched by the company in 1997,
30,000 migrant workers have learned professional skills, laws and
regulations, and job hunting skills in such
schools.??
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In Sichuan, over 13 million migrant workers, unemployed rural
laborers, flowed into cities annually.
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Some 6 million of them went to eastern coastal provinces and
municipalities, even to the central and northwest China, for
employment.
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This year, the province has offered job training to more than 2.1
million potential migrant workers, of which 1.47 million received
certificates, said Ma Shaoxing, deputy director of the Development
Office for Labor Services under the provincial government.
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In the next five years, the province plans to train another 10
million potential migrant workers before their transfer.
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"Because of a lack of technological skills and experience, it's
hard for them to find well-paid jobs in cities," said Ma.
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Sichuan's effort is just one part of an ambitious plan by China to
offer training to its huge army of migrant workers in the next few
years to help with their employment.
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According to the plan issued by the State Council in October, about
200 million potential migrant workers will receive basic training
during the next seven years.
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The Chinese government hopes the plan can help turn its large
number of peasants into skilled workers to speed up the pace
of?modernization.
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Facts also proved that to transfer the surplus rural labor forces
can help narrow the gap in development between the urban and rural
areas.
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"The transfer will deeply affect the economic development and
society," said Hu Angang, an expert.
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He said the total income of migrant workers in central China's Hunan
Province was 40 billion yuan (US$4.8 billion) last year, nearly
equal to the province's financial revenue.
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The migrant workers not only increased the income of their families
but also started businesses and helped the local economy when they
returned.
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"They act as a harmony factor in the relations between the urban
and rural areas during the course of building an affluent society,"
Hu said.
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Statistics show that of the 200 million unemployed rural laborers,
only 9.1 percent have received professional training.
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With increasing economic development and the emergence of new
industries, it is getting more difficult for the rural labor force
to find employment.
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Aware of the urgency of the task, both the central government and
local governments have begun to drive the plan.
(Xinhua News Agency December 20, 2003)