Shanghai's top masons compete in show of skills
Fifty-one outstanding masons selected from nearly 20 major construction companies of the city, such as Shanghai Construction Group and Shanghai Municipal Investment Group, takes part in a competition to select the top masons of the city.
Shanghai's best masons put their skills to the test in a competition held yesterday, with winners potentially going on for career advancement and training.
Fifty-one participants were selected from nearly 20 local construction companies, including Shanghai Construction Group and Shanghai Municipal Investment Group, to take part in the contest in Yangpu District.
The contest involved inserting concrete bricks into a wall, with contestants judged on the speed and quality of their work.
“I never imagined having such a platform to showcase my skills. I’ve always been one of tens of thousands of ordinary construction workers in the city,” said Wu Rong, one of the masons.
The 55-year-old Wu became a construction worker in Shanghai in the 1980s, and has taken part in construction on the Nanpu and Yangpu bridges.
Fifty-one outstanding masons selected from nearly 20 major construction companies of the city, such as Shanghai Construction Group and Shanghai Municipal Investment Group, takes part in a competition to select the top masons of the city.
The city government has enhanced training of tradespeople in recent years to work on local construction projects, as well as to renovate historical buildings that require skills such as carpentry and masonry.
The contest aims to select and train a group of talented workers with skills and passion, said Gu Qi, the president of the trade union at Shanghai Construction No. 2 (Group) Co. Workers with excellent skills can get promoted more easily as well as acquire professional titles and awards, she said.
“Through the training and competition sessions, workers are encouraged to focus on their professional skills and they feel their artisanship is respected,” Gu said.
Apart from traditional skills, the company is focused on training in new fields such as green construction, prefabrication and building information modeling technology, according to Gu.
Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions launched a project in 2016 to single out workers whose expertise, professionalism and spirit are helping the city achieve its goal of becoming a hub of innovation and a center for the “Made in China 2025” campaign.
The campaign aims to select and train a total of 1,000 “Shanghai Standouts” within a decade, in a number of technical and construction-related fields.
