According to Chinese media outlet Guancha.cn, China's shipbuilding industry holds 70% of the global share based on order backlog in 2025, but the challenge is how to solve the shortage of successors after skilled workers retire in 5-8 years.

According to the article, over the past 70 years, leadership in the shipbuilding industry has shifted from the United States to Japan, then from Japan to South Korea, and now from South Korea to China.

When Feng Ni, an associate researcher at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, surveyed 15 shipyards over the past year, it was found that despite the industry experiencing an unprecedented boom, the main concern for management at almost all shipyards was not the market, exchange rates, or technological innovation, but skilled workers.

The average age of shipyard workers is 41, with less than a quarter being under 35. Approximately 95% of newly hired workers are inexperienced, due to harsh working conditions. The skill level of workers is also generally declining.

According to Professor Liu Yuzhao (Sociology) of Shanghai University, this situation is not limited to the shipbuilding industry, and the problem lies in the skill training system for industrial workers. Before and after the reform and opening-up, the system was supported by three pillars: skill certification based on an 8-level worker system, an in-company apprenticeship system based on stable employment, and vocational school education for urban residents. However, these problems emerged intensely, coinciding with the period when demand for China's manufacturing industry was highest, from 2000 to 2010.

Since there are no immediate solutions to human-related problems, attention is turning to an alternative path: replacing humans with machines. According to industry insiders, there are predictions that 30% to 40% of the existing workforce will be replaced in the next 8-10 years. However, while machines can only replace relatively standardized and repeatable processes, almost all ships are custom-made, and there are always discrepancies between blueprints and actual vessels, requiring on-site adjustments.

Shipyards currently possess surplus human resources and and capital due to the boom. These should truly be utilized for the benefit of the workers, and improving working conditions and benefits, providing clear incentives for workers who wish to stay, and stabilizing a core workforce with a sense of belonging are key.

Ultimately, what needs to change is not the workers themselves, but the industrial structure. Expecting the younger generation to endure harsh and severe working conditions for meager incomes, just like their parents' generation, is neither realistic nor justifiable. For the shipbuilding industry to truly advance, it needs to transition from a traditional model reliant on manual labor to a modern manufacturing industry characterized by mechanization, automation, and radical changes in the working environment. (Translation and editing by Yanagawa)