Guiyang and Gui'an boost talent development during 14th Five-Year Plan

At the news conference for the "Guizhou's High-Quality Completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan" series held on Oct 13, it was announced that Guiyang City and Gui'an New Area have made remarkable progress in talent attraction, cultivation, utilization, and retention, adding about 200,000 new permanent residents annually and bringing the total talent pool to more than 1.6 million people.

The special job fair of the 12th Guizhou Talent Expo at Guizhou Normal University in Guiyang. [Photo/Guiyang news network]

Guiyang and Gui'an were recognized as one of China's Best Talent Development Ecosystem Cities in 2024 and have ranked among the nation's "Top 50 Talent-Friendly Cities" for two consecutive years.

The two regions have introduced 13,000 high-level professionals, added 208,000 new industry talents, and attracted 525,000 university graduates to work and start businesses locally.

At the same time, 176 national and provincial experts have been trained, along with more than 706,000 skilled workers. The proportion of highly-skilled talent has risen from 26.9 percent to 45.9 percent, showcasing a strong improvement in workforce quality.

To make better use of talent, Guiyang and Gui'an have built 514 national and provincial innovation platforms, established 11 academicians' workstations and 17 postdoctoral workstations, and facilitated the transformation of 287 scientific and technological achievements into real-world applications. R&D investment increased from 7.41 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) to 11.16 billion yuan.

To retain talent, the two regions have invested 6 billion yuan to build 74,000 affordable rental apartments for talent, provided 530 million yuan in employment subsidies, and created 604,000 job opportunities, ensuring that talents can settle, develop, and thrive in Guiyang and Gui'an.