Bridging gap between education and industry

Yang Yongxiu felt a greater sense of duty upon his appointment as one of the deputies to the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, from the northeastern province of Jilin.

"I am committed to learning and enhancing my skills at the meeting, as well as fully dedicating myself to my responsibilities as a deputy," said Yang, the 38-year-old chief technical expert of China FAW Group and a senior technician at FAW's research and development center in Changchun, capital of Jilin.

For the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, Yang said he hoped to propose the promotion of high-level training for skilled workers in the field of new energy vehicles, catering to the transformation and upgrading of the country's automotive industry.

"We need to make those highly skilled workers gain more theoretical knowledge to support innovation and allow them to play a more important role in developing new quality productive forces. Therefore, I made the proposal that national ministries, local governments, and enterprises should strengthen their support in paving the pathway for high-level skilled talent to obtain postgraduate education," he said. "Through the combination of in-depth learning and practical experience in their positions, they can further enhance innovation levels and facilitate the transformation of achievements."

He also plans to propose more policy and financial support for vocational education.

"I expect that the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance and other relevant departments can accelerate the institutional and mechanism reforms of vocational schools with various supporting policies, such as increasing financial investment, establishing special funds, supporting infrastructure construction, talent cultivation and research innovation," he said.

"Various departments should jointly formulate industry incentive policies to promote the co-construction of vocational schools by the government and enterprises, which will fully leverage the collaborative policy advantages, resource advantages, and technological advantages of government-enterprise cooperation."

Yang joined FAW in 2010, and since then, he has specialized in numerical control technology and mastered the skill of making engine cylinders that meet extremely high standards, with error tolerances of less than 0.015 millimeters.

So far, Yang has obtained 18 national patents and solved over 130 production-related problems.

Born in a rural family in Shangqiu, Henan province, Yang dreamed of making cars when he was young.

"When I was a child, I liked watching cars driving on the road. Especially when I saw the Hongqi car running in front of Tian'anmen Square, I felt quite proud," he said.

In 2007, he took the gaokao, the national college entrance examination, and surpassed the admission threshold for an undergraduate university program. Despite meeting the requirements, he opted to pursue his dream and enrolled in numerical control technology at the Changchun Automobile Industry Institute, a vocational school.

After graduating, Yang joined the research and development department at FAW.

"In the group, I had access to many newer and more advanced technologies and equipment used for making auto parts," he said. "What I learned at the institute was barely enough for me to do my job properly, so I had to learn and practice more."

During those days, Yang worked with a more experienced technician and noted everything he learned. After work, he would stay at the workshop to practice on the lathes until midnight.

It took him only two years to be awarded the "FAW Group Technical Expert" title, which is an extraordinary achievement.

At the beginning of 2020, Yang became a mentor responsible for teaching and coaching young workers for vocational skill competitions.

He has trained about 1,200 people until now, some of whom have won awards, including 33 at the national level.

In June 2020, a studio in his name was established. It has served as a platform for solving production issues, exchanging technical experience and improving skills among colleagues.

He received the China Youth May 4 Medal, the highest honor awarded to Chinese youth who have distinguished themselves in their fields. "I will continue to promote technical training," he said. "I hope I can do more work to bring in more young talent."

Contact the writers at zhouhuiying@chinadaily.com.cn