Dreams initiative empowers workers' education

BEIJING, Sept. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily:

The Study for Dreams Initiative, a collaborative program launched in 2016 by the Ministry of Education and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, has been significantly upgraded this year to enhance the academic qualifications and skills of industrial workers.

Initially focused on migrant workers, the initiative now extends its reach to all industrial workers, emphasizing both academic and non-academic education, and integrating academic learning with skill development.

This expansion is shaped by comprehensive guidelines jointly issued by the ministry and the ACFTU, as well as the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce.

By 2030, the program aims to establish at least 300 projects dedicated to education and capacity building for industrial workers, fund at least 3 million eligible workers — including more than 2 million migrant workers — and inspire a culture of lifelong learning.

This effort seeks to enhance workers' qualifications and skills, contributing to the development of a first-class team of industrial technicians.

The upgraded initiative focuses on integrating resources from multiple parties, emphasizing coordinated efforts in organizational support, funding subsidies, and talent training. It also encourages universities, vocational colleges, craftsman academies, and enterprises to share high-quality educational resources, according to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

As of June 2024, more than 500 universities across China have participated, with trade unions at all levels investing over 1.1 billion yuan ($154 million) to help more than 2.4 million migrant workers upgrade their academic qualifications and skills.

Yuan Caifeng, who grew up in a small village in Anhui province, is one of the beneficiaries. After leaving junior high school to work, she joined an electronics company in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, as an apprentice in 2004.

"I knew improving my education and skills was important, but with a busy work schedule and limited finances, continuing my studies seemed out of reach," she recalled.

In 2017, Yuan discovered the Study for Dreams Initiative, which offered a blended online-offline learning model that fit her schedule. The Wuxi Federation of Trade Unions also provided scholarships to subsidize tuition for outstanding students.

Yuan enrolled in the human resources school at Jiangnan University, which opened new opportunities for her.

"This experience opened a new world for me," she said. "For example, when the company faced high staff turnover, I initially thought it was just due to low salaries. But through studies, I realized optimizing the salary structure and improving incentive mechanisms are key to boosting employee motivation."

Jiangsu has been allocating special funds for the initiative since 2017, increasing its budget from 7.5 million yuan to 40 million yuan.

"We continue to expand coverage, with a focus on migrant workers and new forms of labor," said an official at the Jiangsu Federation of Trade Unions.

This year, the provincial federation plans to subsidize 60,000 migrant workers and front-line employees with 60 million yuan.

At the Fengqi Road branch of SF Express in Hangzhou, Zhejiang­ province, operation supervisor He Xiujie, who has been in the industry for 12 years, exemplifies the initiative's effect.

In 2018, he enrolled in the economic information management program at Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, focusing on improving business knowledge and management thinking. After graduating with an associate degree four years later, he joined the supervisor reserve team and received three months of full-time training.

"We have built a practical training platform and adopted a work-study alternation system, integrating on-the-job practice with coursework," said Ma Hongfei, general manager of SF Express Zhejiang.

This system bridges the career ladder from courier to station manager and district manager, while integrating the development pathway that encompasses skill enhancement, qualification certification, and professional title assessment, ultimately forging a robust link between academic credentials and job roles, he noted.

The company has seen more than 400 employees upgrade their education, with many transitioning from front-line couriers to grassroots managers.

In Chongqing, the Study for Dreams Initiative has been particularly transformative. In a classroom at Chongqing Electric Power College, craftsman tutor Chen Chong captivates students with his detailed explanation of switchgear structure and operation.

This session is part of the "corporate expert in the classroom" course, a component of the Study for Dreams Initiative. Chen is among the pioneering craftsman tutors in Chongqing's industry-education integration alliance within the electric power sector.

Several years ago, while serving as a centralized control operation inspector at Huadian Power International's Fengjie power plant, Chen encountered university educators for the first time during an academic upgrade class. This class was a collaborative effort between Chongqing Electric Power College and the power plant.

Chen, alongside 40 colleagues from various departments such as fuel, operations, and maintenance, enrolled as part of the inaugural group of students.

Under the guidance of university teachers, Chen helped address challenges faced by the power grid in northeastern Chongqing and wrote his graduation thesis on the topic.

The industry-education integration alliance in Chongqing's electric power industry has pioneered a craftsman tutor-plus-full-time-teacher model, integrating scientific research with industry. Over the past two years, the alliance has obtained 505 patents and transformed 348 innovative achievements, helping more than 800 workers upgrade their educational degrees and training more than 300,000 on-the-job workers.

"This reform has been effective and is gradually expanding to other industries in Chongqing," said Yu Jiping, Party secretary and vice-chairman of the Chongqing Federation of Trade Unions.

This year, the city federation has led the establishment of industry-education integration alliances in sectors such as intelligent connected new energy vehicles, smart equipment and manufacturing, gas geology, and chemical pharmaceuticals, linking 100 universities with 1,000 key enterprises in Sichuan and Chongqing.

Within three years, these alliances aim to help 10,000 industrial workers advance their education and 1 million others enhance their skills.

SOURCE China Daily