Instant Comment | How to Remove the 'Dirty, Hard, Tiring' Label from Frontline Manufacturing Jobs?

Since May 2026, the Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security in Jiangsu Province has been conducting a special survey on the demand for urgently needed skilled talent in key industries across the city, aiming to align with the local industrial system's labor needs and identify gaps in skill talent supply and demand. The survey identified 606 urgently needed job categories, with a total planned recruitment of 4,277 people.

The survey report listed various types of positions facing talent shortages — such as sewing machine operators and CNC machinists — and also pointed out issues such as "young people's low acceptance of frontline positions in manufacturing."

This survey result once again confirms the judgment that "the mismatch between labor supply and demand is the main contradiction facing China's employment sector." So, how should we solve the coexisting problems of "people having no work" and "work having no people"? How can the "dirty, hard, tiring" label attached to frontline positions be removed?

Breaking the "Unwilling to Enter the Factory" Employment Mentality

The report noted that through in-depth on-site visits to over 100 enterprises, the following common structural characteristics were identified: first, frontline positions face a dual problem of "unable to recruit, unable to retain" intertwined with a youth talent gap; second, school-enterprise cooperation suffers from both "disconnection between learning and practice" and mismatched training cycles; third, smart manufacturing upgrades are creating a supply gap for复合型 (multi-skilled) talent.

Solving these problems requires a two-way effort between enterprises and vocational education. On the enterprise side, the fundamental need is to improve the working environment and raise compensation to enhance attractiveness to young people. At the same time, vocational education must promote deep industry-education integration and school-enterprise cooperation to solve the "two skins" problem of talent training being disconnected from social demand.

The report also mentioned that many companies reported extremely high turnover rates for positions such as CNC technicians, CNC operators, and sewing workers. At some companies, the retention rate of campus-recruited graduates within three months was less than 10%. Young people's low acceptance of frontline manufacturing positions, combined with factors such as rotating shifts and harsh working environments, means that industries labeled as "dirty, hard, tiring" face a serious risk of workforce aging.

If manufacturing companies want to retain the talent they have already recruited, they need to think from the perspective of young people about how to keep them. This includes but is not limited to: raising wages to fully reflect society's recognition of the value of skilled labor; improving working environments so that technical workers are not left doing枯燥 (tedious), repetitive work in harsh conditions; and considering the characteristics of the younger generation to create a working environment and space that suits them.

Currently, some young people indeed hold the mindset of "unwilling to enter the factory." This is related to the "dirty, hard, tiring" label attached to manufacturing, as well as societal misconceptions. Many young people feel that working in a factory means a lack of freedom and limited social space, and they prefer jobs with greater flexibility.

As early as 2021, a survey by China Youth Daily showed that 63.97% of surveyed vocational school students would not choose frontline positions in factories, construction sites, or workshops after graduation, and only 32.8% reported that their classmates would choose实体经济 (real economy) jobs such as electricians or welders. This requires manufacturing companies to consider the characteristics of young people, build a new type of corporate management culture, and create a working atmosphere that attracts them.

High-Quality Industry-Education Integration Becomes a "Rigid Need"

The report also noted that market supply is severely insufficient for positions such as smart production line operation and maintenance, AI visual inspection, and robot welding programming. The structural contradiction of "newcomers cannot operate smart equipment, older workers are unwilling to learn new technologies" is prominent. Many companies reported needing复合型 (multi-skilled) talent who understand both automation and product processes — such talent is extremely scarce. This means that local manufacturing companies are already undergoing upgrading and transformation, but there is no matching talent available.

In the past, China has been借鉴 (drawing on) Germany's "dual system" to promote industry-education integration, but the actual results have been unsatisfactory. The root cause is that the proportion of high-end manufacturing is not high enough. However, as industrial upgrading progresses, many manufacturing positions have long moved beyond being "dirty, hard, tiring." They not only require higher skill thresholds but also offer wages that significantly surpass many white-collar jobs.

It can be said that the intelligent upgrading of manufacturing enterprises has turned high-quality industry-education integration into a "rigid need." China's vocational schools should seize this opportunity to promote a virtuous cycle of "high-end manufacturing, high-quality vocational education, and high-quality skilled talent cultivation."

In addition, the career values of young people also deserve attention. There is a need to reverse the problems in China's school education, family education, and social education of neglecting hands-on abilities and looking down on skilled professions.

Objectively speaking, China has long had a social mindset of "esteeming academic degrees while neglecting skills." This directly affects students' choices regarding vocational education and their pursuit of skilled careers. When they encounter difficulties in skilled positions, they are quickly discouraged from continuing. Vocational schools need to provide high-quality vocational education to reverse societal prejudice against skilled talent and guide young people to form healthy career values. The current employment difficulty is partly due to the structural problem of graduates "having jobs but not taking them."

In recent years, when filling out college entrance exam志愿 (preference) forms, many students have chosen to give up better普通 (regular) colleges in favor of vocational schools. This is a positive trend. To follow this trend, we need to promote deep industry-education integration between manufacturing enterprises and vocational schools, improve the working environment of manufacturing enterprises, raise the compensation of skilled workers, and guide young people to change their perceptions of skilled positions.