Training model reshapes student's career journey

For Ibrahim Maher, known as Xiao Ming in China, his career path took an unexpected turn inside the Egypt Luban Workshop.

As a young student passionate about numerical-control machinery, he completed vocational training under the workshop program in Cairo and in 2024 was chosen to study numerical control technology at the Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College.

Maher later won a bronze medal at the 2024 World Vocational College Skills Competition and is now pursuing a bachelor's degree at Tianjin University of Technology and Education.

"The Luban Workshop allowed me to turn theoretical knowledge into hands-on competence. It taught me independent thinking and innovation and reshaped the whole course of my life," Maher said.

His personal journey has been highlighted as a vivid example of China-Egypt cultural and people-to-people exchanges. This summer, Maher returned to Cairo, where his training in both Egypt and China drew internship offers from several companies involved in China-Egypt trade.

"Companies value my mixed experience. I understand both Egyptian industrial realities and Chinese technical standards. That combination is exactly what many jointly operated China-Egypt projects are looking for right now," Maher said.

After securing an internship, Maher worked on translating technical documents, assisted with preparations for equipment commissioning and helped local teams understand Chinese manufacturing requirements. "I feel I can serve as a practical technical bridge between the two countries," he said.

Looking ahead, Maher is determined to build his career in Egypt's manufacturing sector. "In the next few years, I hope to keep deepening my technical expertise," he said. "I want to stay rooted in Egypt's manufacturing sector and support more China-Egypt industrial projects with the skills I have gained."

The Egypt Luban Workshop began preparations in December 2018, and was officially inaugurated in November 2020. Under the guidance of education authorities in China and Egypt, Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College and Tianjin Transportation Technical College jointly developed the program with Ain Shams University and the Cairo Advanced Technical School for Maintenance Technology. The arrangement pioneered a "one-country, two-workshops" model, linking higher education with vocational and technical education in Egypt.

"The Luban Workshop is not just about training students and teaching skills. It also serves national diplomacy, addresses industry needs, and provides a platform for sharing China's vocational education model with the world," said Li Yunmei, Party secretary of Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College.

Luban Workshops were included in the eight major initiatives announced at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. In April 2019, China announced plans to establish a Luban Workshop in Egypt to provide vocational skills training for young people.

Back then, major national projects including the Suez Canal economic zone and the new administrative capital were gathering momentum across Egypt. Booming new-energy, smart-manufacturing and high-end-equipment sectors created huge demand for skilled labor. Local industries struggled to recruit sufficient technicians familiar with Chinese technical standards and practical operations.

Rather than simply providing training equipment, the program introduced the Engineering Practice Innovation Project, or EPIP, teaching model, which is geared toward practical learning and problem-solving. Chinese and Egyptian partner institutions jointly developed professional and curriculum standards, bilingual teaching materials and teacher-training programs, according to the program introduction.

In June 2025, more than 20 universities, companies and research institutions from the two countries established an international industry-education cooperation network focused on new energy and smart manufacturing. The initiative is aimed at better aligning vocational training with industrial demand and supporting cooperation in talent development, technology and technical standards.