As part of a huge relocation plan to move tens of millions of people to urban areas, China's central government will spend 600 million yuan (US$75 million) in 2006 on short-term vocational training for 3.5 million rural residents.

The training program, which was initiated in 2004 by six ministries, is known as the "Sunny Project" and it aims to equip farmers with basic skills to help them find jobs in urban areas, an official in charge of the project said Saturday.

"China faces huge pressure to transfer redundant labor in rural areas to cities," said the official.

According to him there are 150 million laborers in rural China and that number is increasing by 6 million each year.

The central government's contribution is expected to trigger more than a billion more yuan from local governments for the "Sunny Project", he said.

The training will mainly focus on skills needed in manufacturing, construction and the service industries. Every trainee will also receive at least eight hours of training on law, work safety, epidemic prevention and other general information to help their transition to life in a city. The training programs can last from 15 days to three months

While 87 percent of workers in the countryside have received primary or junior middle school education only 20 percent have ever received skills training.

In the past two years, the central and provincial governments have invested 1.65 billion yuan in the "Sunny Project", which trained 5.3 million farmers and helped 4.6 million relocate to urban areas.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2006)