Talent initiative boosts Tai'an's rural vitalization

The Daiyue district of Tai'an city – located in East China's Shandong province – has unveiled a raft of policies to support more talented people, in order to boost rural vitalization in the region.

The Tai'an rural vitalization academy – a comprehensive platform relying on the Jiunyu Peak Rural Vitalization Demonstration Area of Mount Tai – has been established to commercialize projects and train people.

An aerial photo of the Jiunyu Peak Rural Vitalization Demonstration Area in Tai'an. [Photo by Chen Yang for chinadaily.com.cn]

"The academy offers systematic courses on the education of situations and policies, industrial development, cultural tourism, e-commerce and rural governance, aiming to cultivate cadres and talent for rural vitalization," said Xu Xin, a member of staff at Shanxiang Group Co, which has used its services.

After taking the courses, Xu Min, a 28-year-old Party branch secretary in Dawang village, felt that he had a clearer development plan for his village. Within a year, Dawang had jumped into the top 10 – from previously being at 26th position – among 43 villages rated for their development in Daolang town.

To spur local entrepreneurship, Daiyue district has optimized an assessment mechanism. It has divided 437 villages into three "groups" based on the village collective economy and then conducted differentiated and targeted assessments.

"In the first half of this year, our village ranked first in the first group. The payment of village cadres was linked to the assessment ranking, thus improving the work enthusiasm and strengthening the collective cohesion," said Qi Huifeng, an official from Zhengzhaizi village.

Additionally, officials from Daiyue district have gone to six universities to recruit people this year. As a result the district has hired 741 young personnel, with 704 college students and 34 master's degree graduates among them.  (Edited by Chen Chuxuan)