A worker labors at a label manufacturer in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, in February. [Photo/VCG]

East China's Zhejiang province has been investing heavily in attracting and developing skilled workers in recent years, aiming to lay a solid foundation for the further growth of its manufacturing sector, which is among the strongest in the country.

The Zhejiang provincial government has formulated a dozen favorable policies targeting highly skilled workers and has required head officials at the county-level and above to keep regular contact with the most highly skilled workers in their jurisdictions. Thousands of blue-collar workers have received up to 300,000 yuan ($43,410) in financial rewards from the province for their outstanding expertise.

Zhejiang workers won four gold and two silver medals at the latest World Skills Competition in Russia in 2019, an indication of the significant progress the province has made in developing technical expertise in the manufacturing sector.

Vocational schools give rise to a great many skilled workers. At present, Zhejiang has a total of 80 vocational colleges, with a record-high enrollment of 163,000 students, including 52,000 new students.

Zhejiang is also working to establish vocational training platforms. It has so far established 360 provincial-level training workshops, which are led by top technical workers and have recruited a total of 9,100 apprentices. Nearly two million highly-skilled workers have attended various kinds of government-sponsored training bases over the past five years.