Yantai Special: Yantai looks for talent to drive growth

The Yantai High-Tech Industrial Zone in Shandong province is now attracting high-caliber personnel from China and abroad with the offers of large grants to holders of advanced intellectual property and people with high levels of expertise in science and management.

"Talented people play an important role in boosting the zone's development. We will continue to implement favorable policies to make the zone attractive to them," said Liu Hongbo, a senior official at the zone's administrative committee.

Highlighting advanced manufacturing, biomedicines, new materials, electronic information and modern services, the zone was approved as a national high-tech industrial zone in 2010.

"We are determined to develop into one of China's leading high-tech hubs," Liu said.

The zone recently released an ambitious plan to attract 100 quality professionals for its advanced industries by 2015.

They are required to hold high academic degrees and have extensive research experience. Local authorities expect that at least 10 of them will have held leadership positions in universities, research institutions and enterprises worldwide.

This plan was made as a supplement to the central government's Talent 1,000 program, an initiative to attract professionals from overseas.

The science park of the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Institute of Mechanics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and six other research organizations have helped in drafting the plan.

Liu said the zone has a range of favorable polices in place for introducing talented people, including tax reduction, preferential loans, subsidies for business startups, research and human resources support.

He said the zone's administrative committee will set aside a special fund of 100 million yuan to help enterprises recruit and train skilled workers, and another 100 million yuan will be used to support research facilities.

A qualified professional who holds significant intellectual property rights will have access to subsidies of up to 20 million yuan for starting a new business.

And a team of such professionals will be eligible for financial assistance of up to 50 million yuan.

The zone also awards people with great achievements in research. Anyone who has won the National Technology and Invention Award or the National Science and Technology Progress Award can qualify for a reward of up to 1 million yuan.

Newly elected members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences or Chinese Academy of Engineering will be awarded 200,000 yuan. The holder of a patent recognized abroad will be given 30,000 yuan as a reward and 5,000 yuan for each patent approved in China.

Besides the financial support, the zone's administrative committee also is paying much attention to personnel training. It now has partnered with more than 20 overseas institutes and universities to organize regular training workshops and academic exchange activities.

Its service team can provide a full range of services ranging from business registration to healthcare.

The zone also provides a comfortable work and living environment for businesspeople and employees as well, with such facilities as office buildings, residential areas, an international convention and exhibition center and a botanical garden.

To attract more overseas talent, the zone has organized many promotional campaigns in countries such as Japan, South Korea, the United States and Canada. It also has connections with 23 overseas organizations and headhunting agencies.

You may contact the writers through wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/19/2012 page15)