The Chinese philosopher Chuangtse, or Zhuangzi, (369-286 BC) once said, "Life is limited, but study is limitless".

And while he might have been speaking more than 2,000 years ago, the words have a contemporary ring to them as China tries to enhance its competitiveness through lifelong learning.

Peng Sen, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, yesterday called on governments and education authorities across the country to develop a more effective system of lifelong learning.

"Knowledge has made investment in education and training more critical for economic growth and global competitiveness as the world is entering the age of the knowledge economy," Peng said at a seminar on lifelong learning in Beijing.

"The essence of lifelong learning is to provide opportunities for people to learn throughout their lives especially in an age when science and technology are making advances on a daily basis," Peng said.

Organized by the State Information Center and the World Bank, the seminar aimed to disseminate the findings of a World Bank report on lifelong learning in China to policymakers, think tanks and society as a whole.

"China has made very impressive progress in expanding access to education at all levels, improving adult literacy, providing training for rural migrant workers and the urban unemployed," Professor Carl Dahlman, the report's leading author, said.

The literacy rate for adults in China rose from 68 percent in 1980 to 89 percent in 2004, the report said.

In addition, more than 8.6 million migrant workers have been trained over recent years and been given help to find work in the city, it said.

The unprecedented population shift has created increasing demand for an effective training system.

"The education and training system in China is still very fragmented and inefficient," Dahlman said.

"To benefit from economies of scale and avoid the wasteful use of limited resources, China needs to develop an integrated learning system with bridges between different segments and stakeholders of society."

The report suggested the government changes its role as an education provider to a multifaceted lifelong learning system designer, promoter and supervisor.

The report found that employers needed staff with relevant education and training and a much broader range of skills including the ability to solve problems, communicate with others and to work as part of a team.

On-the-job training has become an important channel for China's more than 770 million workforce to absorb new knowledge and acquire the necessary skills.

Li Jiange, deputy director of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said: "Although China has a vast population, it still lacks sufficient talent. One of the country's main strategies is to turn the heavy population burden into a strategic advantage by changing its economic growth model from a resource-intensive one to a knowledge-intensive one."

The recent rising unemployment rate among highly educated people, notably college graduates, and the severe shortage of technical workers signal the serious mismatch between skills supply and demand in China.

The situation is mainly caused by poor course designs, out-of-date training methods, badly formed curricula, poor information services and incomplete job markets, Wang Shuilin, a World Bank economist, said.

According to a survey by Peking University, of the 4.1 million students who graduated in 2006, only 50 percent have since found employment.

This year, it is expected that 4.9 million college students will graduate and the job situation will worsen, sources at the Ministry of Education said.

(China Daily 06/20/2007 page4)