The Shanghai “Highland of Talent” Strategy

Having invested heavily throughout the 1990s in physical infrastructure, the Shanghai Municipal Government (SMG) began a parallel investment in 2003 to strengthen human capital in the metropolis and move Shanghai towards becoming a global city. The SMG announced an integrated strategy of competitiveness building human capital development via four key themes: attracting Chinese overseas graduates, vocational training of on-the-job workers, training for local workers without jobs, and training of migrant workers. This strategy has had considerable success, largely through taking a balanced approach (attracting talent, upskilling the labour force and integrating the hard to reach) while also setting clear targets and achievable goals for local stakeholders.