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On August 4, the kickoff conference for a provincial-ministerial cooperative campaign to promote the development of vocational education and the building of a “skilled Gansu” in the entire province of Gansu was held in Lanzhou, Gansu. Tang Renjian, Governor of Gansu and Deputy Secretary of the CPC Gansu Provincial Committee, and Sun Yao, Vice Minister of Education and Member of the MOE’s Party Leading Group, attended the conference. Vice Governor of Gansu Zhang Shizhen hosted and addressed the conference.
In 2019, Gansu was recognized by the General Office of the State Council as one of the four provinces that “had taken great strides in cooperation between schools and enterprises, created a sound environment for the development of vocational education and achieved significant outcomes in the reform of vocational education, and therefore should be rewarded and supported.” Gansu’s progress in vocational education made so far has laid the groundwork for a provincial-ministerial joint endeavor to promote comprehensive reform and improve the quality of vocational education. Recently, a Circular of the Ministry of Education and the People’s Government of Gansu Province on Promoting Vocational Education and Building a “Skilled Gansu” was officially issued, outlining requirements and plans for further steps in the development of vocational education in the province, to integrate into the implementation of the national Belt and Road Initiative and create a demonstrative model of modern vocational education in West China, as well as a series of innovative initiatives featured by more vigorous reform efforts and favorable policies.
Vice Minister Sun stated at the conference that, since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee had placed an emphasis on the reform and development of vocational education. This kickoff conference marked the launch of joint efforts by the MOE and the Gansu Provincial Government to promote innovation and development in China’s vocational education, following the first provincial-ministerial cooperative campaign of its kind in Shandong Province. Vice Minister Sun also called for innovative methods and deeper synergy in work, exploring paths for greater interaction, integration and quality development between vocational education and local industries in the western part of China, while providing a pipeline of technical and skilled talent to Gansu’s implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the experiences of Gansu in the building of a vocational education system with Chinese characteristics in the new era. The MOE and Gansu Provincial Government would reinforce policy making, management, monitoring and experience sharing, to ensure successful completion of tasks in building a “skilled Gansu”.
The conference was live streamed to remote participants at municipal (prefectural) level. After the kickoff ceremony, Gansu Provincial Government held a press meeting introducing the basics of the campaign.