SSTC Webinar of Good Practices on Apprenticeship of China successfully held

On 13 April 2023, ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi and CO-Beijing successfully organized the SSTC Webinar of Good Practices on Apprenticeship of China. This webinar is under the ILO South-South and Triangular Cooperation(SSTC) Initiative Promoting Quality Apprenticeship in China, Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Switzerland. As the first event to constituents, the webinar shared policy development and innovative implementation of apprenticeship in China to senior officials and experts in apprenticeship and skills development from Ethiopia, India and South Africa. Over 50 participants attended the webinar and shared their insights.

In the opening remarks, Director of ILO CO-Bejing Mr. Changhee LEE highlighted the importance of apprenticeship as an effective way to impart skills from one generation to another in many countries. He valued the positive evolution of apprenticeship in China and reaffirmed the ILO’s commitment to promote quality apprenticeship with the Chinese constituents.

The Officer-in-Charge of ILO DWT/CO-New Delhi Mr. Satoshi SASAKI briefed the webinar agenda and emphasized the significance of peer learning and experience sharing on quality apprenticeship under the SSTC. Mr. Ashwani AGGARAWAL, the ILO Senior Skills and Lifelong Learning Specialist introduced global initiatives on apprenticeships by the ILO Headquarters. He expressed that the ILO is dedicated to working with all member states in overcoming labour market challenges and providing technical support in quality apprenticeship and skills development.

Three Chinese speakers presented good practices of apprenticeship in China from different aspects. Ms.Yi YANG, Director of the Department of Vocational Capacity Building of MOHRSS provided a comprehensive introduction to policy development of China New Enterprise-based Apprenticeship. She also looked forward to strengthening bilateral and multilateral exchanges and collaborations in vocational training with participating countries. Mr. Qianjin YIN, Senior Manager of Human Resources Department of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) introduced innovative tools and methods to create a sustainable and effective quality apprenticeship mechanism tailored to the corporation’s context. Mr. Qiangzhi RUAN, Principle of Changxing Technician College in Zhejiang Province presented how they cooperated with continuing education institutes in towns and villages to expand and promote apprenticeship among SMEs. Moderated by Ms. Anita Amorim, Head of Emerging and Special Partnerships of the ILO, participants had in-depth discussions with the speakers and looked forward to more experience sharing workshops for mutual learning in the future.

This webinar is one of the series of activities of ILO SSTC initiative Promoting Quality Apprenticeship in China, Ethiopia, India, South Africa and Switzerland. This SSTC initiative focuses on knowledge and experience sharing among emerging countries and technical capacity development of constituents to strengthen their apprenticeship systems.