BEIJING, Jan. 26 -- China will step up the training of highly skilled personnel urgently needed in developing new industries and new growth drivers, an official with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said Friday.

Focusing on areas related to major national strategies, the ministry will take innovative measures and launch projects to cultivate highly skilled personnel, said Wang Xiaojun, an official with the ministry.

In particular, efforts will be made to speed up the development of training programs for digital technology engineers, she said.

Last year, China provided government-subsidized vocational training to 18 million people, and supported the building of 115 training bases for highly skilled personnel, mainly covering areas including advanced manufacturing and modern services, according to the ministry.

Wang also stressed that migrant workers are an important part of China's industrial workforce, saying that large-scale vocational training will be provided to the group in various forms.

China aims to increase the proportion of skilled talent in its labor force to over 30 percent by 2025, with highly skilled personnel accounting for one-third of the total skilled talent, according to a guideline on skilled talent unveiled in 2022.