The inaugural Ningbo Vocational Skills Contest opens in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 4. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]

The inaugural Ningbo Vocational Skills Contest opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 4.

A total of 30 teams composed of 690 contestants made it to the final this year. The contest is divided into two sections: workers and students.

In the workers' section, contestants will compete in 27 events falling into five categories of tourism, advanced manufacturing, urban and rural construction, animal husbandry, as well as veterinary services.

In the students' section, contestants will compete in 10 events, such as heavy vehicle technology, plastic mould engineering, prototyping, fine woodworking, electrical installation, sugar art and pastry making, 3D digital game art, industrial robotics, as well as social care.

Mayor Qiu Dongyao noted at the opening ceremony that skilled workers are an important force bolstering Ningbo's high quality social and economic development.

He called on workers from the city, especially the younger generation, to improve their skills so that they can contribute more to the city's drive to become a modernized coastal city and a pioneer in the province's "common prosperity" campaign.

As of June, Ningbo was home to 1.89 skilled workers, among which 580,000 were high-skilled workers, official data showed.

Mayor Qiu Dongyao delivers a speech at the opening ceremony of the inaugural Ningbo Vocational Skills Contest on Sept 4. [Photo/WeChat account: nbfb0574]