The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, China's cabinet, on Sunday jointly issued the country's Medium and Long-term Talent Development Plan (2010-2020), which sets a blueprint for creating a highly skilled national work force.

The plan says as part of China's modernization process, people's education must be improved. China has to transform itself from being labor-rich to talent-intensive.

The plan aims to increase the ratio of citizens with a higher education background in the work force from 9.2 percent in 2008 to 20 percent by 2020.

The plan lists six major categories of "talent" that the government will help cultivate, ranging from political leaders, entrepreneurs to high-tech researchers and professional social workers.

By 2020, more than 85 percent of government officials will have four years of college education, it says.

The government will conduct large-scale training programs to encourage more college graduates to work in China's rural areas to help local farmers live a better life, the plan says.

In terms of professional social workers, the plan says the government will put measures in place to train about 3 million social workers by 2020.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2010)