A tea-making master from the Dianhong Group instructs students from Lincang Agricultural School who are competing in the “2022 National Vocational College Skills Competition (Secondary Vocational Division) Handmade Tea-Making Event” on tea-making techniques. (Photo courtesy of Yunnan Dianhong Group Co., Ltd.)
Introduction
Not long ago, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council issued the “Opinions on Strengthening the Building of a Highly Skilled Workforce in the New Era”. Building a highly skilled workforce is of extraordinary significance to the tea industry; every article of the Opinions is packed with “substance” and every measure is “hardcore”, outlining a clear path and action guide for cultivating highly skilled talent in the tea industry.
What is the current state of highly skilled talent cultivation in the tea industry, and where do the difficulties lie? What new changes and new directions are there for cultivating highly skilled tea industry talent in the new era? Recently, reporters from China Cooperative Times · Tea Weekly conducted research and interviews with relevant organizations.
From the “tea industry” to the grand stage of “rural revitalization”
For governments of tea-producing regions, building a highly skilled workforce for the tea industry is also closely tied to comprehensively advancing rural revitalization. “Cultivating highly skilled talent for the tea industry is an important part of rural revitalization work,” Yang Yaobin, Director of the Local Industry Office of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, emphasized repeatedly in the interview.
Fengqing Dianhong black tea is a local specialty industry that Fengqing County is vigorously developing. In 2014, the black tea making technique (the Dianhong black tea making technique) was inscribed on the national list of representative intangible cultural heritage items (fourth batch). In 2018, Zhang Chengren, General Manager of Fengqing Xiao Guan Tea Industry Co., Ltd., was awarded the national-level title of “inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of black tea making technique (Dianhong black tea making technique)”. In addition, Fengqing County has dozens of provincial-level inheritors of the Dianhong black tea making technique.
At present, Fengqing County has formed a “pyramid-shaped” talent cultivation model through the “Dianhong Black Tea Making Master Team” organized under the Fengqing Dianhong Black Tea Industry Alliance. Yang Yaobin said: “In recent years, the county’s organization department, social security bureau, and vocational colleges have worked together, cultivating a group of ‘professional tea farmers’ and ‘tea industry workers’ through professionalized, full-time, and certificate-based training for farmers \u2014 they are the solid foundation of the ‘pyramid’. From among these grassroots skilled industry personnel, the county plans to select 300 to 500 people each year and train them to become ‘high-quality farmers’ and ‘rural artisans’ who understand technology, know management, and are good at marketing. These ‘high-quality farmers’ and ‘rural artisans’ will continue to learn from national-level and provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritors, ultimately becoming highly skilled talent for the tea industry. This talent will eventually join the ranks of the rural revitalization workforce and play a unique role.”
Iteration from the “apprenticeship system” to “master studios”
The Opinions propose encouraging enterprises to try the “master-apprentice” talent cultivation model, establishing skill allowances, team leader allowances, apprenticeship allowances, and the like, to support and encourage highly skilled personnel to exercise their skills, manage teams, and pass on their craft to apprentices in their posts.
Lin Yanteng, former director of the Zhangzhou Tea Factory in Fujian Province, told reporters that in the past, the “apprenticeship system” was always the basic method of talent cultivation in tea enterprises. This Fujian provincial-level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the traditional Zhangzhou oolong tea refining technique said: “The Zhangzhou Tea Factory was founded in 1954 and was an enterprise directly under the Zhangzhou Supply and Marketing Cooperative. The 1960s were the factory’s most glorious period. Back then, the factory had good economic returns and many tea technicians, and it practiced the ‘apprenticeship system’ of talent cultivation. At that time, the average employee wage was 60 yuan per month, and veteran masters who took on apprentices could receive an additional post allowance of 7 yuan per month. Later, the factory was restructured, and this system naturally disappeared.” In order to pass on the traditional Zhangzhou oolong tea making technique, veteran masters including Lin Yanteng spent a long period “generating power out of love”, voluntarily passing on their craft to young people. As a result, the transmission of the traditional Zhangzhou oolong tea making technique was never interrupted. Today, a fifth generation of inheritors has already been cultivated.<\/p>\n
A veteran master of the Zhangzhou Tea Factory evaluates tea samples. Photo by Chen Yifan
So in what form does the “apprenticeship system” exist and function today? “The hardest times are behind us. It is very gratifying that the government attaches increasing importance to the transmission of intangible cultural heritage skills,” Lin Yanteng said happily. “In 2020, with the support of the Fujian Provincial Department of Human Resources and Social Security, the Zhangzhou Tea Factory established the Lin Yanteng Skill Master Studio and the Lin Ruixiang Skill Master Studio, and the department granted the studios a one-off project fund of 100,000 yuan. Every year, the government also provides skill allowances of 6,000 yuan to provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritors and 3,000 yuan to municipal-level inheritors. The studios not only train employees within the factory, but also regularly offer tea evaluator and tea artist skills training to the public. So far, the studios have trained more than 1,500 trainees from inside and outside the factory.”
Similarly, the reporter learned from the Xishan Biluochun Tea Factory in Wuzhong District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, that the factory has established the Zhou Yongming Tea-Making Skill Master Studio, which holds five to ten public-interest professional skills training sessions each year for enterprises and tea lovers from society. The reporter also learned that Fengqing County is actively planning to establish a national-level skill master studio. Yang Yaobin said: “In 2023, Fengqing County will complete the Fengqing Dianhong Black Tea Intangible Cultural Heritage Academy, where national-level and provincial-level intangible cultural heritage inheritors will preside over the academy’s work and pass on the Dianhong black tea making technique through the ‘master-apprentice’ approach. In addition to providing the venue, Fengqing County will also support the academy’s work through contracted projects, funding, and other means.”
Expansion from “school-enterprise cooperation” to “e-commerce platforms”
The Opinions propose that the cultivation of skilled talent should strengthen and deepen the integration of industry and education, as well as school-enterprise cooperation. Zou Guangqi, General Manager of the Xishan Biluochun Tea Factory, told the reporter: “The Xishan Biluochun Tea Factory is the largest tea factory on Xishan Island, the birthplace of Biluochun tea, and it attaches great importance to cultivating skilled talent in production and processing. At the same time, talent cultivation must keep pace with the times, and the factory also places great emphasis on cultivating skilled marketing talent. At present, the factory has carried out in-depth school-enterprise cooperation with the Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce, and has also established an e-commerce practical teaching site and the Biluochun Rural E-Commerce Academy. Taking Biluochun e-commerce operations as a typical job role, the Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce has tailor-made a talent cultivation program for participating students. Next, the school will organize students to intern at the tea factory for hands-on practical teaching.”<\/p>\n
Students majoring in e-commerce at the Suzhou Institute of Trade and Commerce promote Biluochun tea to netizens via livestreaming. Photo by Yuan Yi
Zou Guangqi studied under Zhou Yongming, a Jiangsu provincial-level inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of the Biluochun making technique, and has become a highly skilled tea industry professional in the truest sense. He has not only personally won numerous awards for tea-making skills, but has also trained the factory’s e-commerce team. Zou Guangqi said: “Of course, tea-making remains the foundation of the factory’s existence. Every year, the factory provides 50,000 yuan in training funds, arranging for technical personnel in production to attend various industry training sessions in turn according to their vocational skill levels. Those who pass the assessment can obtain eligibility for promotion. For top performers with outstanding skills, the enterprise will also recommend them to participate in national-level, provincial-level, and municipal-level industry skills competitions and training exchange activities.”
Refinement from “five levels” to “eight levels”, and honing from domestic to international
The Opinions propose expanding vocational skill levels for skilled personnel from “five levels” to “eight levels”, adding an apprentice level before junior workers, and adding special-grade technicians and chief technicians above senior technicians. This is a major change.
Liang Shengming, head of the Appraisal Division of the Vocational Skills Appraisal and Guidance Center of the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, said in an interview that the expansion of vocational skill levels for skilled personnel from “five levels” to “eight levels” is a further refinement of the vocational skill level system, laying an institutional foundation for unblocking career development channels for skilled talent and improving their social status and remuneration. Tea-related occupations, like other occupations, will be implemented in accordance with the new vocational skill certification system. The specific implementation measures, evaluation standards, and evaluation methods will be adjusted accordingly in accordance with the relevant regulations and requirements of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.<\/p>\n
The practical training session of the 2020 training class for highly skilled tea evaluators. Photos by Wang Zhonghui and Song Xiao
The Opinions propose improving a vocational skills competition system with Chinese characteristics that is led by the WorldSkills Competition, headed by national vocational skills competitions, centered on national industry-level and local vocational skills competitions at all levels as well as special competitions, and based on vocational skills competitions held by enterprises and colleges. Liang Shengming said: “Tea is a traditional specialty industry of our country. Skills competitions for tea-related occupations organized around the tea industry play a positive role in raising the skill levels of tea industry practitioners, promoting the high-quality development of the tea industry, driving local economic development, and helping farmers shake off poverty and achieve prosperity. The issuance of the Opinions provides guidance for the long-term development of vocational skills competitions in the tea industry. The building of the tea industry competition system will always center on the skill requirements of the various occupations and job types in the tea industry, constructing a competition system composed of national competitions, industry competitions, and special competitions at different levels.”
Upgrading from “cultivation by the tea industry” to “combined efforts of all of society”
Through interviews, the reporter learned that the cultivation of highly skilled talent in the tea industry still faces structural problems in talent and employment. Yang Yaobin said: “Tea supports the people of Fengqing County, and its development trend concerns the livelihoods of the entire county. At present, all 13 townships and 187 villages of Fengqing County grow tea. The county’s 515,900 mu of tea gardens support 75,441 farming households and 334,500 people engaged in the industry.” But then his tone shifted: “Right now, Fengqing County is truly short of tea industry talent. The tea industry is not a strong industry; its economic returns are relatively low. Young people have gone out to work elsewhere, and the talent shortage across the entire tea industry chain is becoming increasingly prominent.”<\/p>\n
A livestreaming local talent from the Cai’s Tea Company of Fengqing County, Yunnan Province, conducts a livestream. Photo by Yang Dongyun
The outflow of young labor and the structural contradictions in talent and employment encountered by Fengqing County are a common phenomenon at this stage. On the one hand, building a highly skilled workforce for the tea industry is a systematic project: in tea-producing regions, through the comprehensive advancement of rural revitalization, the achievements of industrial development are used to attract, retain, and make use of talent. This requires concerted efforts from all departments in tea-producing regions and combined efforts from all of society. Yang Yaobin said that Fengqing County hopes, through various practical and effective measures, to broadly pass on the fine craftsmanship of Fengqing’s veteran tea people, retain more young people, and cultivate more industry backbones. The more tea-making masters are cultivated, the more famous the “Fengqing Dianhong” brand becomes, and the more the industry develops, the more talent will be attracted \u2014 forming a virtuous circle.
On the other hand, efforts are needed at every link, from the cultivation of skilled talent to the use of talent and on to the incentivization of talent, providing highly skilled personnel with a broader and higher professional stage. Liang Shengming said: “According to the requirements of the Opinions, the tea industry competition system will be further improved in the future. In terms of organization, the establishment of an organizational system involving multiple actors \u2014 government, industry, and enterprises \u2014 will be promoted. In terms of how competitions are run, the inherent conventions of competition organizing will be broken, combining them with tea exhibitions, expos, forums, and conferences to better expand the influence of the competitions. In terms of applying competition results: first, publicity will be stepped up to win market attention and create a favorable social atmosphere; second, competitor profiles will be established, with greater attention paid to competitors’ career growth, striving to provide winning contestants with better employment opportunities; and third, mechanisms for career-level advancement and rewards for award-winning contestants will be established. The reward and advancement mechanisms will use more flexible ways and methods to widen the gradient between contestants and increase the promotion intensity for contestants with outstanding competition performances.”
Produced by: China Cooperative Times · Tea Weekly All-Media<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
ZENTEA MANOR
Alliance Supply Chain Services Limited
Unit 902-3, 9\/F, Mini Cube, 10 Sam Chuk Street, San Po Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
www.zentea-shop.com Email:info@zentea-shop.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A tea-making master from the Dianhong Group instructs students from Lincang Agricultural School who are competing in the “2022 National Vocational College Skills Competition (Secondary Vocational Division) Handmade Tea-Making Event” on tea-making techniques. (Photo courtesy of Yunnan Dianhong Group Co., Ltd.)IntroductionNot long ago, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-yun-tea-mountains-en"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13672"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13673,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13672\/revisions\/13673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zentea-shop.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}