Guiding Opinions on Cultivating a Workforce for the Construction Industry in the New Era

　　 Guiding Opinions on Cultivating a Workforce for the Construction Industry in the New Era

　　(Draft for Solicitation of Comments)

　　Construction industry workers (hereinafter referred to as construction workers) are the cornerstone of the development of the construction industry and have made significant contributions to the advancement of new-type urbanization and the rapid growth of the national economy. At present, construction workers face serious challenges such as high labor mobility, severe aging, low skill levels, and inadequate protection of their legitimate rights and interests, all of which severely constrain the sustained and healthy development of the construction industry. To implement the "Reform Plan for Building a New-Era Workforce of Industrial Workers," the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Promoting the Sustained and Healthy Development of the Construction Industry," and the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Addressing the Issue of Delays in Paying Wages to Migrant Workers," and to accelerate the cultivation of a new-era construction workforce, the following recommendations are hereby put forward:

　　I. General Requirements

　　(1) Guiding Ideology.

　　Fully implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and earnestly carry out the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. We will promote in a coordinated manner the “Five-in-One” overall layout and the “Four Comprehensive” strategic layout, firmly establish and implement the development philosophy of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and shared benefits. Taking the promotion of supply-side structural reform as the main line, we will remove institutional and mechanistic barriers that do not meet the requirements for building a high-quality construction workforce, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises and the broad ranks of construction workers, and provide strong support for the sustained, healthy development of the construction industry and the realization of a new type of urbanization.

　　(2) Basic Principles.

　　Adhere to government guidance and enterprise leadership. Strengthen policy guidance, increase fiscal investment, enhance supervision and management, and foster the construction workforce in a lawful and orderly manner. Fully leverage the leading role of enterprises in organizing construction workers and providing skills training, and ensure that enterprises assume their primary responsibility for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of construction workers.

　　Adhere to a people-centered approach and promote innovative development. Improve the long-term mechanisms for preventing and resolving the issue of unpaid wages to migrant workers, explore social insurance contribution mechanisms that are tailored to the characteristics of the construction industry, effectively safeguard the labor compensation rights of migrant workers, intensify skills training efforts, and continuously enhance the skill levels of construction workers.

　　Adhere to adapting measures to local conditions and proceed steadily. Based on the actual development of the construction industry and regional contexts, conduct a thorough analysis of the underlying causes behind current challenges. Uphold both symptomatic and root-cause treatments, start with pilot programs, use model examples as guides, and steadily advance various reforms to open up career development pathways for construction workers.

　　(3) Objectives and Tasks

　　Deepen the reform of the construction workforce system, establish a professional development pathway for construction workers, and promote the transformation of migrant construction workers into skilled construction laborers. Improve the systems for skills training and certification of construction workers. By 2025, significantly enhance the skill levels of construction workers, with the number of construction workers holding intermediate-level or higher qualifications reaching 10 million. Establish long-term mechanisms to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of construction workers, unblock career development channels for skilled professionals, and carry forward the spirit of model workers and the craftsman spirit, thereby building a large contingent of industrial workers in the construction sector who are knowledgeable, skilled, and innovative.

　　II. Deepen the reform of the labor employment system

　　(1) Build a new construction workforce system. Gradually establish a diversified employment model in which construction contractors rely primarily on their own construction workers, while specialized subcontracting companies mainly employ their own construction workers. Construction general contractors and specialized subcontractors are encouraged to develop their own construction workforces composed predominantly of workers specializing in highly skilled trades and possessing advanced technical skills, who will serve as technical backbone personnel responsible for tasks such as site supervision and team leadership. Specialized subcontracting companies shall establish relatively stable labor relationships with construction workers and sign labor contracts in strict accordance with the law.

　　(2) Vigorously develop specialized construction companies. Increase the intensity of policy support, deepen the implementation of the “Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship” initiative, and fully leverage local “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Bases.” Encourage and guide existing labor teams or team leaders with certain skills and experience to establish specialized companies focused on specific construction tasks or register as individual business operators—thus providing legal employment channels for construction workers. This will facilitate the transition of migrant construction workers into skilled workers and enhance their sense of belonging within the industry. Abolish the approval process for construction labor qualifications; instead, establish a qualification system for specialized construction companies and adopt a notification-and-filing mechanism. After obtaining business registration, specialized construction companies shall file their basic information, contact details, and other relevant data with the housing and urban-rural development authorities at the county level, clearly specifying the primary trades they engage in. The county-level housing and urban-rural development authorities will issue qualification certificates for specialized construction companies based on the filed information. Specialized construction companies may undertake specialized subcontracting activities only within the scope authorized by their qualification certificates. Effectively implement preferential policies—including reductions or exemptions—in value-added tax, administrative and public service charges, and government funds—for small and micro specialized construction companies. Encourage construction contractors to forge long-term, stable partnerships with specialized construction companies, continuously enhancing the latter’s professional capabilities.

　　(3) Guide labor service enterprises to transform and develop. Relax market access restrictions and encourage labor service enterprises with certain organizational and management capabilities to transform into general contractors and specialized enterprises by introducing talent, equipment, and other resources. Encourage large and medium-sized labor service enterprises to fully leverage their strengths in establishing labor service platforms to provide construction companies with qualified construction workers. Guide small and micro-sized labor service enterprises to transform and develop into specialized operation enterprises, focusing on niche markets and honing their expertise to become the primary employers in the construction industry.

　　(4) Fully implement the real-name management system. General construction contractors shall establish a real-name management system for construction workers, clearly define management responsibilities, and adopt real-name management for all construction workers entering the job site, recording their identity information, training records, professional skills, and employment history. They should make full use of information technologies such as the Internet of Things and biometric identification to achieve digitalized management. Localities shall formulate management measures for the real-name system for construction workers, strengthen supervision and inspection, establish regional real-name management platforms, and promptly collect data on real-name management at construction sites. Enhance the application of real-name data by integrating real-name management with enterprise integrity systems, market access, performance appraisal and recognition, and wage arrears handling. A national information platform for construction worker management services shall be established, data standards shall be developed, and information interconnection and sharing shall be strengthened. By 2020, full coverage of the real-name system for construction workers nationwide shall be achieved.

　　III. Effectively enhance the skills and quality of construction workers.

　　(5) Strengthen vocational skills training. Establish a vocational education and training system for construction workers that involves the joint participation of industry, enterprises, educational institutions, and social organizations. Implement the primary responsibility of enterprises in providing vocational training for construction workers, guide enterprises to develop worker-training plans and establish training systems, optimize and integrate training resources, and make full use of on-site construction resources. Through various approaches—including setting up training bases, strengthening cooperation between schools and enterprises, purchasing social training services, and adopting new apprenticeship models—carry out pre-employment training and skills-enhancement programs. Encourage specialized training institutions, vocational colleges (including technical schools), and social organizations to actively participate in vocational training for construction workers. In accordance with market-oriented requirements, leverage their respective strengths and distinctive features to build a training network that complements enterprise-based training, thereby continuously expanding the coverage of vocational training for industry workers. Improve the vocational education system by refining the teaching standards framework based on new industrial development demands, emerging technologies, and updated regulations; update curriculum content; and guide relevant vocational colleges to optimize their construction-related major offerings. Colleges should formulate professional talent-development plans tailored to their specific operational realities, effectively serving the urgent need for skilled personnel in the industry. By 2025, strive to achieve full coverage of vocational training for construction workers.

　　(6) Improve the skills certification system for the construction industry. Carry out the development of occupational skill standards and evaluation guidelines relevant to construction workers, and promote vocational certification for construction workers in accordance with the occupational categories specified in the National Catalogue of Occupational Qualifications. Innovate examination and training models; skills certification bodies should fully leverage large- and medium-sized projects to conduct skills assessments, integrating actual engineering production with assessment and certification processes. This approach will help resolve the conflict between work and study, enhance the effectiveness and relevance of certification and assessment, and reduce costs associated with certification venues and equipment.

　　(7) Establish a skills-based incentive mechanism. Localities should develop staffing standards for construction sites and urge enterprises to strengthen skills training and conduct skills certification. By 2020, the proportion of construction workers at or above the intermediate level on construction sites should reach no less than 10%; by 2025, this proportion should rise to no less than 30%. Intensify supervision and inspection of the skill levels and staffing ratios of on-site workers, and link relevant information to market access, bidding and tendering, integrity systems, and evaluation and recognition programs. Encourage relevant authorities to release information on labor costs for various skill levels and job categories, providing guidance for enterprises to set construction worker wages reasonably, and encourage enterprises to link skill levels with compensation. Guide enterprises to establish databases of skilled personnel experts and implement a chief technician system. Encourage various competent departments, industry associations, and enterprises to actively organize on-the-job training, technical competitions, and skills contests.

　　IV. Effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of construction workers.

　　(8) Establish a sound, long-term mechanism to ensure timely payment of wages. It is essential to strictly implement the requirements set forth in the "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Comprehensively Addressing the Issue of Delays in Paying Wages to Migrant Workers," and fully enforce the principle that general contractors (including specialized contractors directly contracted by project owners, hereinafter referred to as the same) bear overall responsibility for the payment of wages to construction workers on the projects they undertake. Subcontractors (including specialized contractors and specialized operation enterprises contracted by general contractors, hereinafter referred to as the same) shall be directly responsible for paying the wages of the construction workers they hire. Promote the implementation of a system of guarantees for payment of project funds: if the project owner requires the contractor to provide a performance bond, it shall also provide the construction contractor with an appropriate payment guarantee. Use economic measures to address the issue of delayed payment of project funds, which often leads to wage arrears for construction workers. Accelerate the improvement of relevant systems such as wage deposit guarantees and emergency revolving funds for unpaid wages, and establish a “blacklist” system for enterprises that default on construction worker wages. Enterprises found guilty of wage arrears shall be added to the “blacklist,” and the information on this “blacklist” shall be publicly disclosed through platforms such as “Credit China” and the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System. Implement joint punitive measures across departments, including restrictions on market access and, in severe cases, downgrading of qualification levels.

　　(9) Increase the rate of signing labor contracts. Fully implement the labor contract system, develop standardized model labor contracts tailored to the employment characteristics of the construction industry, intensify labor supervision efforts, and urge construction companies to sign written labor contracts with hired construction workers in strict accordance with the law. General contractors shall ensure that subcontractors sign written labor contracts directly with the construction workers they hire. General contractors shall incorporate labor contract information into their real-name management systems, strictly prohibit using labor subcontracting agreements in place of formal labor contracts, and eliminate the practice of signing contracts on behalf of others. By 2020, essentially achieve full coverage of labor contracts.

　　(10) Improve the social insurance contribution mechanism. For construction workers—especially migrant workers—who cannot be insured through their employers and are employed on construction projects, they shall participate in work-related injury insurance on a project-by-project basis. Reasonably determine work-related injury insurance premium rates, streamline and standardize the procedures for identifying work-related injuries and assessing labor capacity, and make concerted efforts to enhance the management and service quality of work-related injury insurance. Strengthen supervision and inspection to ensure that work-related injury insurance covers all construction workers at construction sites. Establish and improve social insurance enrollment and contribution methods tailored to the construction industry. Construction enterprises (including specialized subcontracting companies) shall specify in the remuneration clauses of employment contracts the expenses required for insuring construction workers and shall pay social insurance premiums for these workers in accordance with the law.

　　(11) Improve the living and working conditions of construction workers. Gradually raise environmental and hygiene standards at construction sites, enhance occupational safety and health conditions, and provide labor protection equipment as required. Conduct pre-employment, in-service, and post-employment occupational health examinations in accordance with national regulations to minimize the risks of production safety accidents and occupational diseases. Strengthen infrastructure development in construction workers’ residential areas and improve their living environments. In regions where conditions permit, explore the establishment of centralized residential bases that are separate from construction sites. Cities at or above the prefectural level should include construction workers who meet local housing security criteria within the scope of housing security programs.

　　V. Strengthen Organization and Implementation

　　(12) Strengthen organizational leadership. Cultivating a workforce of construction workers for the new era is a key task for promoting the sustained and healthy development of the construction industry; it involves a wide range of sectors and requires strong policy support. All relevant departments must fully recognize the importance of this work, enhance inter-departmental collaboration, and establish a coordinated mechanism among departments for cultivating the construction workforce. Housing and urban-rural development authorities at all levels, in conjunction with other relevant departments, should formulate policies and measures tailored to local conditions for nurturing the construction workforce. They should promptly study and address major issues arising in the course of this work, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of enterprises, construction workers, and social organizations, and foster a positive situation characterized by multi-party synergy and joint efforts to advance the building of the construction workforce.

　　(13) Increase financial investment and fiscal and tax support. Based on the characteristics and actual conditions of the construction industry, formulate medium- and long-term plans for special funds to support training of construction workers over five- and ten-year periods. Implement effectively policies providing subsidies for vocational training and certification of professional skills, and refine the mechanism for skill-training subsidies. Eligible individuals participating in vocational training for the construction industry as well as technician and senior-technician training shall receive certain training subsidies. Furthermore, those who pass their initial skill assessment and obtain a professional qualification certificate or a special vocational competence certificate shall receive an additional skill-assessment subsidy. Enterprises shall clearly specify in project costs the allocation of relevant expenses for workers’ skill training.

　　(14) Foster a positive public opinion environment. Adhere to the correct orientation of public opinion and vigorously promote the significant importance, goals, tasks, and policy measures for cultivating the construction workforce. Leverage the role of news media in publicity, guidance, and public oversight, intensify efforts to popularize the law, urge enterprises to employ workers legally, and guide construction workers to express their demands in a lawful manner. Fully utilize modern media platforms such as the Internet, Weibo, and WeChat to actively highlight exemplary models among construction workers, promptly summarize and disseminate best practices and successful approaches in workforce development. Continuously innovate publicity methods, enhance the effectiveness of publicity efforts, and create a favorable public opinion atmosphere that honors labor and values skills.

　　(15) Give full play to the positive roles of trade unions and social organizations. Properly guide and encourage social organizations to participate in the development of the construction workforce, actively providing services to construction workers and voicing their concerns. Encourage industry associations and social organizations to establish platforms for matching construction professionals with job opportunities, thereby supporting the growth of small and micro-sized specialized construction enterprises. Actively leverage the role of trade unions: trade unions at all levels should strengthen grassroots organization building, continuously innovate mechanisms, and, through various forms such as project-based unions, entrusted unions, and joint unions, integrate construction workers into union organizations, providing them with a solid foundation for safeguarding their basic rights and interests.