Young man pilots drones to fly into career that delivers

Luo says that the Great Wall reflects the wisdom and greatness of ancient Chinese, and today's scitech advancement allows people to experience the Great Wall with greater convenience. "I feel particularly proud of it," he adds.

Luo's occupation transition is not only a personal growth experience, but also keeps pace with the country's pursuit of high-quality development driven by sci-tech innovations.

China has taken various actions to promote high-quality employment for the youth. The country's efforts to foster new quality productive forces, featuring the low-altitude economy and other new emerging industries, are constantly generating new job opportunities for Luo and his peers.

It is a normal phenomenon that labor flows from low-productivity industries to high-productivity ones, according to Li Chunlin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission.

"While promoting economic transformation and industrial upgrading, technological progress will also give birth to many new occupations and jobs," Li says.

He points out that there are currently 1 million job vacancies for drone pilots, a new profession generated from the booming low-altitude economy.

By the end of 2023, a total of 1.27 million drones were registered across the industry, an increase of 32.2 percent compared with the end of 2022, according to a CAAC statistical communique.

There were 194,400 valid drone pilot licenses in the industry by the end of 2023, an increase of 27.2 percent over the end of 2022.

China is deepening reforms in the building of its industrial workforce, according to a set of guidelines recently issued by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.

The country will promote modern vocational education, increase efforts to foster talent with comprehensive technical skills, and refine the lifelong vocational skills training system for industrial workers, according to the guidelines.

Eyeing the skies, Luo is "full of expectations", and keen to tap new chances of the growing low-altitude economy.

To him, the drone applications are far beyond the current express deliveries of food and groceries. "Maybe, they can shuttle patients' specimens for testing between home and hospitals."

"The career transformation has increased not only my income but also my interest in drones. And I now have a clearer career target as I want to obtain the drone instructor certificate," Luo says.

Xinhua