A student shows off his technical skill during the event. [Photo/ourjiangsu.com]

The first skills event for technical colleges in Jiangsu province was held in Xuzhou, Jiangsu province on July 15.

During the event, students showed off their skills, such as carving the Red Boat – it is an iconic object in the history of the Communist Party of China - on an olive nut, identifying 150 different aperture sleeves with eyes covered, as well as using excavators to cut cucumbers placed on balloons.

The event attracted representatives from 86 technical colleges, human resource service organizations, and enterprises across the province.

"We emphasize on basic skills. The skills that the students were showcasing during the event were what they learned during their daily training," said Zhao Boluan, deputy dean of the College of Automotive Engineering, Jiangsu Province Xuzhou Technician Institute.

"Our college prepares students for jobs that are needed in regions like Suzhou. As such, the students are employed as soon as they graduate. We have an employment rate of above 99 percent," said Qian Yongming, dean of the Suzhou Technician Institute of Electronic and Information.

Jiangsu will focus on the construction of independent and controllable modern industrial systems during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. The province will support technical colleges to set up courses covering key fields like advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, and the modern service industry to achieve the goal of cultivating 50 characteristic courses related to the advanced manufacturing cluster in the province by 2025.

Jiangsu province has set the goal of having 40 million skilled talents during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period .