THE Shenzhen Subvenue of the First Innovation Exchange Conference for Craftsmen of the Nation opened Wednesday, with 77 exchange zones set up at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Guangdong Governor Wang Weizhong delivered a speech at the online opening ceremony of the Shenzhen subvenue.

Wang said that Guangdong will deepen the implementation of education and training for technical personnel, optimize supporting services for talents, carry forward the spirit of model workers, hard work and craftsmanship, actively build an innovation and entrepreneurship platform, fully construct the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) as a high-level talent pinnacle and encourage young people to pursue careers as highly skilled talents.

Themed “Craftsmanship and Innovation Makes China Stronger,” the three-day conference is being held online and offline to showcase the exquisite skills and innovation achievements of the city’s workers.

Lu Jianxin, a top-notch skyscraper engineer from Guangdong, said the exhibition in Shenzhen can promote the spirit of innovation and invention among all citizens, and motivate more people to participate in building a strong country with skills. “Model artisans and craftsmen are responsible for helping industrial workers learn new technology and make breakthroughs, as well as contributing to invigorating China via our inventions and creations,” Lu said.

As of the end of 2021, the number of skilled workers had reached 3.9 million citywide, with 1.4 million highly skilled talents accounting for 35.94% of the total.

Since the 13th Five-Year Plan was launched, the city has seen two technical workers winning top prizes at the ChinaSkills Competition, four granted the State Council special allowance, 84 bestowed the National Technical Expert title, five named as Nanyue Technical Expert and 291 winning Guangdong Province’s technical expert honors.

Candidates from Shenzhen grabbed two silver medals, two copper medals and two excellent prizes in total in the WorldSkills Competition.

Shenzhen has rolled out vocational skills training programs for three years, covering 4 million people, issuing subsidies of 4.4 billion yuan (US$666 million) and benefiting 140,000 enterprises. (Xia Yuanjie)