China has achieved impressive growth over the last three decades and has
now become the second-largest economy in the world. To sustain its growth,
China is transitioning from an investment-led, high-carbon growth model to a
consumption-led, green growth model, less reliant on low-cost manufacturing
and more on technology and innovation. Skills development has been a key
factor enabling China’s unprecedented growth and will continue to play a
vital role in sustaining its ongoing economic transformation and pursuit of a
harmonious society.
Located on the southwestern border of China, Yunnan is a medium-sized
Chinese province with abundant natural resources and high levels of ethnic
diversity. Although Yunnan is still one of the poorest provinces in China, it has
experienced rapid economic growth rates over the last decade and is expected to
maintain an annual growth rate of 10 percent or higher. The recent national
Bridgehead Strategy has further positioned Yunnan as a strategic gateway in the
Southwest region, providing tremendous new opportunities for its development.
Is Yunnan ready to meet the skills challenges posed by rapid economic growth?
What critical skills are needed for workers to help achieve Yunnan’s economic
and social transformation? Is Yunnan’s current education and training system
capable of supplying sufficient and relevant skills demanded by the economic
and social transformation?
This report consists of three parts. The first part, Skills Challenges: Demand,
Gaps, and Mismatch, examines the sources of the mismatch of supply and
demand for skilled labor in Yunnan. The second part, Education and Training,
sets out the challenges facing Yunnan as it seeks to strengthen the Technical
and Vocational Training and Education (TVET) system, improve access to
education and the quality of educational outputs, encourage more robust
work-based and rural training, and invest additional resources in general education.
Finally, in Conclusions and Policy Implications, the report lays out specific
policy proposals that cross both sector lines and address sector-specific
issues.