More than 150,000 migrant workers will have received subsidized vocational training from the municipal government by the end of this year, Vice Mayor Liang Daoxing told a work meeting at the Citizens' Center yesterday.

The subsidy, which began in September, amounts to 33.15 million yuan (US$4 million), and is the first such support for the training of migrant workers in Shenzhen.

Official figures show that 33.6 percent of the 6.9 million migrant workers in the city had no more than nine years' education. Without a good educational background or skills, most migrant workers work in labor-intensive industries on low pay.

"The low-quality skills of migrant workers conflicts with the city's urgent demand for a skilled workforce during economic development and industrial upgrading," said Liang.

The subsidy will go to migrant workers in pillar industries, in areas where there are many migrant workers, such as Bao'an and Longgang, and to enterprises with a high proportion of migrant workers, according to Luo Xingguang, director of the training department of the municipal labor and social security bureau.

The city has drawn up a plan to train a total of 5 million migrant workers by 2010 through subsidies or favorable policies, said Liang.

The program is expected to help 90 percent of the trainees get a professional certificate and 60 percent of them to earn more.

Liang also vowed to make all employers sign contracts with their workers by 2008 to protect migrant workers' rights, and punish the employers who delay paying wages.

(Shenzhen Daily December 5, 2006)