Plans unveiled

Development of Luban Workshops, which was initiated by vocational colleges in Tianjin, accelerated in recent years after President Xi Jinping unveiled plans to expand such cooperation with countries from the developing world.

At the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the president announced that 10 Luban Workshops would be established in Africa to provide vocational skills training for young people. In September 2021, Xi said China would establish 10 of these workshops in member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Some African nations have already benefited from the vocational education cooperation programs.

In Djibouti, the first 24 students trained by a Luban Workshop in fields such as railway operations and rail engineering technology have become interns for the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway.

The workshop, the first of its kind launched by China in Africa, is expected to help train talent, which is in short supply, to ensure the maintenance and operations of the railway, a flagship BRI project built by Chinese construction companies.

In Rwanda, a Luban Workshop jointly established by China's Jinhua Polytechnic and the Integrated Polytechnic Regional College Musanze, or IPRC Musanze, offers students training in skills such as telecommunications, smart manufacturing, electrical automation technology and e-commerce.

Xu Tengfei, head of the international exchanges department at Jinhua Polytechnic in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, said the workshop has offered more than 9,000 training sessions for students from the African nation.

"Development of e-commerce and the digital economy are the priorities for Rwanda's Vision 2050. This is why we offer training in these two sectors," Xu said.

Esdras Nshimyumuremyi, deputy principal of IPRC Musanze, said the training provided by the Luban Workshop is highly regarded, with participants expressing gratitude for the chance to enhance their skills.

"The training provides comprehensive knowledge, interactive sessions and valuable hands-on experience, contributing to participants' confidence in applying their new skills to improve their work performance and support organizational growth," he said.