NPC deputy Ding Zhaomin is also a technician. [Photo/cailianxinwen.com]

Ding Zhaomin, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) and a front-line technician from China's northeastern Jilin province, has called for general improvements in vocational education and a real strengthening in the country's training of skilled personnel.

He said skilled professionals are important for the country's development, directly influencing its industrial development and the competitiveness of companies.

The current relatively low ratio of skilled workers to the workforce and a shortage of highly skilled workers is restricting the country's industrial development, he added.

The NPC deputy said he believed that due to a weak education base, it was difficult to train existing skilled workers into high-skilled professionals -- and there was a traditional view that vocational education was no match for general education.

Ding suggested the country attach more importance to vocational education and improve the treatment and social status of its skilled talent.