The year 2026 marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. This year's government work report, when outlining the overall requirements and policy directions for economic and social development in 2026, explicitly calls to "promote effective improvement in the quality and reasonable growth in the quantity of the economy." This is not merely a high-level policy statement but a profound revelation of the inherent laws of economic development. It charts a course forward for all sectors, including quality-related endeavors, and sets forth new requirements for cultivating quality professionals in the new era.
As an educator with over three decades of experience in industrial quality enhancement and talent development, I have had the privilege of witnessing and participating in the remarkable transformation of Chinese manufacturing from outdated to advanced, and Chinese products from low-cost and low-quality to high-quality and affordable. I have also observed the challenging journey of cultivating quality professionals in China, evolving from scattered beginnings to a more widespread presence. Based on this experience, I aim to share a practitioner's perspective on understanding the profound assertion in the government work report regarding "effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity," and to explore its guiding significance for current and future efforts in cultivating quality professionals.
Ensuring Reasonable Growth in Quantity for Quality Talent: Laying the Foundation for High-Quality Development
Materialist dialectics teaches us that quantitative change is the necessary preparation for qualitative change, and qualitative change is the inevitable outcome of quantitative change. The basic logic of development is the accumulation of "quantity" preceding the leap in "quality." Quantity serves as the foundation and carrier of quality; without a certain scale, quality lacks a basis for existence. Conversely, quality is the purpose and value embodiment of quantity; growth in quantity without quality assurance ultimately loses meaning or may even produce negative effects.
Since the first undergraduate program in Quality Engineering was established at China Jiliang University in 2004, driven by the national strategy for quality and strong economic and social demand, the number of trained quality professionals in China has steadily increased year by year. By the end of 2025, over 20 universities across the country had established undergraduate programs in Quality Management Engineering or specialized programs in Quality Management and Certification, with more than 1,000 graduates annually joining the grand endeavor of building a nation of quality.
However, we must soberly recognize that this number still falls significantly short compared to the immense societal demand. Taking manufacturing as an example, the number of industrial enterprises above a designated size in China exceeds 400,000. Even by the most conservative estimate, if only one quality graduate is needed per ten enterprises annually, the national annual demand would be as high as 40,000 individuals. The current supply meets less than 2.5% of this demand. Even considering non-systematically trained personnel from corporate training and social institutions, a substantial structural gap remains between the overall supply and demand for quality professionals.
Based on this stark reality and in conjunction with the high-quality development goals outlined in the government work report, we can readily conclude that significantly scaling up the cultivation of quality professionals to achieve their "reasonable growth in quantity" is an urgent task to serve and support high-quality economic and social development. It is also an inevitable choice for solidifying the foundation of building a quality nation. This requires not only that educational authorities expand program offerings and encourage more qualified institutions, especially in science and engineering, to establish quality-related disciplines, but also that China explores diversified, multi-level models for cultivating quality talent. Examples include establishing "micro-credentials in quality" and widely implementing "quality empowerment" plans for in-service personnel, to rapidly address the significant shortage in numbers.
Achieving Effective Improvement in the Quality of Talent Cultivation: Shaping Core Competitiveness
If "growth in quantity" addresses the question of "whether there is any," then "improvement in quality" focuses on "how good" and "how strong." A large quantity of talent lacking in quality not only wastes educational resources but also fails to fully realize its social value. The "quality" of talent cultivation ultimately depends on the extent to which graduates meet employer needs. As times change, technology iterates, and market competition intensifies, employer requirements for quality professionals continue to evolve and rise. To continuously meet this dynamic demand, the "quality" of talent cultivation must keep pace with the times and achieve effective improvement.
Based on personal understanding and practical experience, I believe four key areas are crucial for enhancing the quality of talent cultivation in this field.
Clarifying Customer Needs and Building a Future-Oriented "Quality Professional" Competency Model
Effective demand management is a prerequisite for ensuring and improving quality. We must deeply understand the genuine needs of the industry for quality professionals and use this as a basis to reconstruct talent development objectives. Quality professionals whose core competencies are solely based on traditional functions like quality inspection, operational supervision, and system maintenance can no longer meet the needs of contemporary enterprises for "effective improvement in quality." The composite quality professionals demanded by the times should possess the following multi-dimensional capabilities.
First, they should be managers who understand technology. Quality is both designed and managed. Quality professionals must not only master classic theories and tools like Statistical Process Control (SPC), Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA Safety), and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), but also deeply comprehend the internal logic of business operations. They need to effectively communicate with senior management and heads of production, procurement, finance, marketing, and other business departments using the "language of quality," integrating quality management into the entire business process.
Second, they should be technologists who understand economics. Technology is the most powerful lever for driving quality improvement. Quality professionals must not only excel at using advanced technology to solve specific quality issues but also possess an economic mindset regarding quality. They should be able to accurately calculate quality costs, quality benefits, and return on quality investment. They need to use data to convincingly demonstrate that "focusing on quality generates profit," rather than "focusing on quality incurs cost," transforming the traditional perception of "quality as a cost" to "quality as profit, quality as core competitiveness."
Third, they should be executors who understand strategy. Strategy determines direction, execution determines success. Quality professionals need not only strong execution capabilities but also a strategic perspective to deeply understand the overall development strategy of the enterprise and align quality development accordingly. They must discern the essence of "quality" and "quantity" and their dynamic balance, making quality decisions that serve the long-term interests of the enterprise while being practical in the current uncertain internal and external environment.
Fourth, they should be communicators who understand culture. Culture is the underlying code for an organization's enduring success, and the profound impact of quality culture on quality work is undeniable. Quality professionals must not only be practitioners of quality culture but also active disseminators. Through words and deeds, they need to internalize and externalize the principle of "quality first," fostering a positive atmosphere of pursuing excellence and continuous innovation within and beyond the organization.
From a competency hierarchy perspective, the quality professionals needed by industry can be divided into three levels. The first level involves the ability to discover and analyze problems (mastering tools and methods, identifying quality defects, diagnosing root causes). The second level involves the ability to insightfully identify and solve problems (seeing the essence through phenomena, implementing and driving systemic improvements). The third level involves the ability to prevent issues and guide decision-making (possessing forward-thinking, making strategic trade-offs between "quality" and "quantity," preventing problems before they occur). "Effective improvement in quality" requires our cultivation system to strive towards higher levels, continuously producing more third-level quality professionals with top-level thinking and strategic vision.
Reconstructing the Cultivation System and Deepening Industry-Education Integration for Collaborative Education
Guided fundamentally by meeting societal needs and centered on promoting students' comprehensive development and adaptation to social requirements, we must break down traditional disciplinary barriers and systematically reconstruct the existing cultivation system. This requires us to prospectively strengthen the following modules while solidifying the core curriculum of traditional quality management and quality engineering.
First, strengthen quality economic analysis by offering courses in quality cost management, quality investment decision-making, and quality benefit evaluation, cultivating students' ability to articulate the quality narrative in financial terms.
Second, embrace digital transformation by introducing cutting-edge content such as digital quality management, intelligent quality control, digital twins, and quality simulation, familiarizing students with next-generation quality technologies.
Third, expand industrial perspectives by offering specialized courses tailored to different industries (e.g., high-end manufacturing, digital industries, biopharmaceuticals, modern services), enabling students to deeply understand the nuanced differences in the meaning of "quality" across various fields.
Fourth, deepen industry-education integration by actively promoting models like "quality industry colleges," "order-based classes," and "university-enterprise co-built training bases," extending the classroom to the production front line. Encourage students to participate in real enterprise quality improvement projects, honing practical skills by solving complex real-world problems, achieving seamless transition from "enrollment as employment" to "graduation as job placement."
Strengthening Resource Supply and Safeguards to Build a High-Level Quality Education Ecosystem
High-quality talent cultivation is inseparable from high-quality faculty, teaching materials, and practical platforms.
First, build a "dual-qualification" teaching faculty by encouraging university teachers to undertake secondments in enterprises, while also appointing experienced enterprise executives, quality directors, and chief quality officers as industry professors, forming a combined teaching team of full-time and part-time instructors.
Second, develop first-class teaching resources by organizing the compilation of high-quality textbooks and case libraries that reflect contemporary characteristics and meet industry needs. Construct high-level quality laboratories and virtual simulation platforms that integrate teaching, research, and social services.
Third, foster a quality culture atmosphere by organizing quality forums, competitions, and cultural activities to create a strong quality culture environment, enhancing students' professional identity and pride.
Establishing a Continuous Review and Improvement Mechanism to Ensure Spiral Ascension in Cultivation Quality
The pursuit of improving the quality of talent cultivation is endless. The cultivation of quality professionals can also draw on the PDCA cycle concept to build a normalized quality assurance and continuous improvement mechanism.
First, refine the evaluation system by establishing graduate tracking feedback mechanisms and social evaluation mechanisms. Regularly understand graduates' career development and employer satisfaction, using these as core criteria for judging the quality of talent cultivation.
Second, promote continuous improvement by regularly reviewing and diagnosing cultivation plans, course content, and teaching methods based on evaluation results. Identify problems, analyze causes, and formulate and implement improvement measures, thereby forming a virtuous cycle of "evaluation—feedback—improvement" to ensure the quality of talent cultivation achieves spiral ascension through dynamic adjustments.
Conclusion: The Mission of Quality Professionals in This Era
"Promoting effective improvement in the quality and reasonable growth in the quantity of the economy" is not only a requirement for economic work but also a call of the times for quality education. As an educator long dedicated to the quality field, I deeply feel that this statement embodies a profound educational transformation and a weighty historical responsibility.
The individuals we cultivate should be the drivers of this profound transformation, the mainstay in building a quality nation. The issues we research should be the key points and breakthroughs in this transformation, the theoretical beacons guiding industry development. The wisdom we contribute should be the action guide for this transformation, the professional force aiding the steady and sustained progress of China's economy.
The blueprint is drawn, and the time for endeavor is now. We should take quality as our vocation, education as our duty, and excellence as our pursuit. Uniting our efforts and forging ahead with innovation, we will contribute the full wisdom and strength of quality educators to China's achievement of "effective improvement in quality and reasonable growth in quantity" in its economy, and to the grand goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
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