The 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes the strategic integration of industry development and employment growth. By actively fostering new occupations and emerging roles, the plan seeks to align workforce capabilities with the evolving industrial landscape. The objective is to stabilize and expand employment while enabling industries to access a skilled, adaptable workforce that can support technological and structural transformation.

Linking Industry Growth to Employment Demand

Industrial expansion is a primary driver of employment scale and quality. Emerging industries and new business models create demand for roles that did not exist a decade ago. Strengthening coordination between industrial planning and workforce development ensures that labor supply matches sectoral needs, reducing structural mismatches and promoting efficient allocation of human capital. This alignment is particularly relevant for fast-growing sectors such as the digital economy, modern services, and intelligent manufacturing, where technological evolution continuously reshapes required skills.

The Rise of New Occupations

New occupations are direct outcomes of industrial restructuring and technological change. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, China identified 72 new occupations across strategic sectors, ranging from artificial intelligence trainers and new energy vehicle maintenance specialists to drone swarm flight planners. These roles illustrate how technological advancements, changing industrial structures, and evolving consumption patterns create demand for specialized skills, while simultaneously broadening employment opportunities for workers in emerging fields.

Skills Development and Standards

New occupations require higher skill levels, emphasizing the importance of targeted training and certification. Optimizing professional curricula, updating training content, and accelerating the formulation of occupational standards are central to creating a workforce capable of meeting future industry demands. The plan prioritizes integrating training resources from enterprises and industry organizations, fostering teaching capacity, and ensuring that practical and theoretical learning is aligned with evolving occupational requirements.

Policy Measures to Support Workforce Adaptation

To support industry-driven employment, the 15th Five-Year Plan promotes policies that encourage enterprises to stabilize and expand jobs, while simultaneously guiding workers toward emerging roles. National-level standards for new occupations are being developed alongside localized training initiatives. These measures aim to create a virtuous cycle where industries drive demand for skilled labor, training programs develop relevant competencies, and workforce deployment strengthens industrial capacity.

Conclusion

The 15th Five-Year Plan’s focus on industry-employment coordination underscores a forward-looking approach to labor market development. By cultivating new occupations, aligning skills with emerging sectors, and reinforcing standards and training, China seeks to ensure that employment growth keeps pace with industrial transformation. This strategy not only addresses structural employment challenges but also enhances the quality and adaptability of the workforce, supporting sustainable economic development in the next phase of industrial modernization.