Hiring good talent is always a headache. For several years, the city of Shanghai has been trying to work it out. Its solution is a trial training program called "modern apprentice project" which helps companies recruit just the people they want.

Unlike an internship program, the apprentice project sees manufacturing companies sign agreements with neighboring schools to cultivate students' talents, and the usual training period lasts from two to three years following a student's graduation. 

During the apprenticeship, the trainees are paid the same salary as contract employees. The companies may also enter into a contract with the students. Those who agree sign that in exchange for their training, they will join the company and continue to work for it after their apprenticeship ends.

They usually wind up in positions in project management, construction planning and design. And because they are college graduates, they learn a lot faster and better than regular apprentices, though at first, the learning curve can be steep.

"When these college graduates first arrived, they could barely lift a hammer. But now after learning from the skilled workers, most of them can do things on their own. They progress very fast because they are all very enthusiastic about learning everything," said headteacher Zhang Weixiong.

A total of 65 companies in Shanghai have adopted the apprentice model since 2016. These companies have carried out 121 apprentice projects, grooming some 7,500 new staff.

Shanghai Tunnel Engineering is one of the 65 companies. It had been suffering from a talent shortage for several years and started its apprentice project to recruit young blood. So far, some 140 apprentices have graduated as project managers.

"In the past, most of the employees we recruited from the market or directly from school were very good in theory, but they were not very down-to-earth," said Li Bo, chairman of the Board of Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co.

Li said one of the major differences between apprentices and regular hires is apprentices "have been in the front line themselves, so they have a deeper understanding of these projects and of the workers that work there. It's easier for them to communicate with the workers."

New staff who graduate from the apprentice project also receive government awards as an extra incentive. For three years after graduation, each apprentice that acquires a junior worker qualification gets a 4,000 yuan (about 561 U.S. dollars) annual bonus, each mid-level worker gets 6,000 yuan (about 841 U.S. dollars), and senior-level staff 8,000 yuan (about 1,122 U.S. dollars).

In addition to state-owned companies, a growing number of private firms are taking part in the project — they now account for 42 percent of all the companies participating. As the program scales up, the city hopes that by next year it will be turning out 10,000 skilled workers for local manufacturing companies each year.