Photo shows the opening ceremony of a national iron and steel industry vocational skills competition held in Zhangjiagang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, September 23, 2024.
BEIJING, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A national iron and steel industry vocational skills competition kicked off on Monday in Zhangjiagang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, aiming to meet the new needs of global sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation and to promote high-quality development of the industry.
Marking the 11th time of the holding of this event, this year's competition gathered 70 teams from 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, with 243 well-qualified mechanics and technicians in the iron and steel industry.
The event is hosted by the China Iron and Steel Association (CISA) and the National Committee of the Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Material Workers' Union, and is undertaken by Shagang Group, a private steel producer.
Lasting for six days, the event will see participants of various specific occupations compete on both theoretical understandings and practical exercises.
The event also includes an exchange conference on new knowledge, new technologies and new concepts of the iron and steel industry, which involves expert speeches, reports on technological innovation, applications of new technology and equipment, and so on.
Skilled talents have long been serving the key links in the complex production system of iron and steel enterprises, playing a vital role in promoting high-quality development of the industry, said He Wenbo, executive chairman of CISA during the opening ceremony, noting that China's iron and steel industry now needs highly skilled talents more than ever.
Li Ruiyi, a senior official with the National Committee of the Chinese Machinery, Metallurgical and Building Material Workers' Union, said that the purpose of holding this kind of competition is to promote learning and training through competing, as well as to provide a platform for communication and exchange, as a bid to further provide technical support and talent guarantee for the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
The event serves as an important opportunity for iron and steel enterprises to accelerate the optimization of talent training mechanism and embrace new trends of the industry, said Shen Bin, chairman of Shagang Group, noting that the company will actively contribute to a better future for China's iron and steel industry. (Edited by Yu Huichen with Xinhua Silk Road, yuhuichen@xinhua.org)
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