"The mainland has become the world's largest producer and consumer of woolen products. However, with the intensification of competition in the international market, the mainland wool industry is facing unprecedented challenges. In order to meet these challenges, we must strengthen personnel training, improve the technical level, inherit the advantages, and continue to make the industry bigger and stronger. Xia Zhigang, deputy dean of the School of Textiles of Wuhan Textile University, said at the opening ceremony of the 2024 "Wool Industry Continuing Education Project" professional talent training class.
The more traditional the industry, the more important it is to be at the forefront of innovation. In the traditional industry market to rush out of a road, wool spinning enterprises rely on what? The key technologies that cannot be snatched, sealed, and held in hand are the source of power for wool spinning enterprises to strive forward, and talent is the key to the key.
Cultivating the soil for the growth of professional talents
In late March, for some of the front-line wool textile industry practitioners were busy and fulfilling, three special trainings in a row, so that they could solve some questions in their actual work and have a further grasp of professional knowledge.
The "Wool Textile Industry Continuing Education Project" professional talent training course is a talent training project launched by China Wool Textile Industry Association and universities and enterprises, aiming to promote the construction of wool textile talent team and cultivate technical talents with comprehensive technology, theoretical knowledge and practical experience for the industry, which has been praised by the industry.
This year's "Wool Textile Industry Continuing Education Project" professional training course is divided into a wool textile online theory course, two on-site spinning courses and three on-site dyeing and finishing courses, with a complete curriculum system and basically covering all fields of wool textile processing.
Lanzhou Sanmao Industrial Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Lanzhou Sanmao") organized 92 managers of product design, process technology, quality control and other aspects to participate in the online training course. Through the study, the trainees have a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of wool textile engineering, and master the relevant technology and management methods. They said that the training was rich in content and practical, and would be of great help to their future work.
The 10 senior experts and scholars in the industry who served as the training instructors provided rich and practical learning content for the students through theoretical explanations and case analysis. The training covers many aspects of wool textile engineering, including but not limited to the characteristics and testing of wool fibers, wool spinning process, fabric design and development, quality control and management, etc. Tan Xiaoyi, chairman of Lanzhou Sanmao, said: "Participating in this training aims to strengthen the construction of the company's technical talent team, improve the theoretical and professional technical level of talents, strengthen the quality and ability training of talents, promote the high-quality development of the company, and continue to expand and strengthen the main business of wool spinning." ”
In recent years, Lanzhou Sanmao attaches great importance to technology platform cooperation, through learning and exchanges, smooth industry-university-research cooperation mechanism, provide a platform for technical personnel to learn and exchange, strengthen industry exchanges and cooperation, and also improve the technical level of enterprises.
Liu Jiaqiang, president of China Wool Textile Industry Association, said that since the implementation of the continuing education project in the wool textile industry, it has always been committed to cultivating talents in the wool industry with innovative spirit and professional skills. Talent is the cornerstone and source of power for the development of the industry, and the high-quality development of the industry is inseparable from high-quality talents. For more than 10 years, the China Wool Textile Industry Association has continued to carry out industry talent training activities, which have been widely recognized and widely praised by the industry. At present, continuing education talent training has become an influential brand activity in the wool textile industry, hoping to promote the high-quality development of the wool textile industry through learning and exchange.
In the wool industry, talent determines the speed of enterprise transformation and affects the future competitiveness. In recent years, the head enterprises of wool spinning have also spared no effort in talent training.
In the view of Xue Jingli, chairman of Consinee Group (hereinafter referred to as "Consaini"), the sustainable development of talents is the guarantee of long-term success. Consinee has established a provincial postdoctoral workstation with Jiangnan University, established long-term cooperative relations with Donghua University, Xi'an Polytechnic University and Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, cooperated with Ningbo University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University to establish a full-cycle intelligent quality online system and introduced a number of high-level talents, which has paved the way for the R&D, production and operation of Consinee Intelligent Factory.
Jiangsu Sunshine Group (hereinafter referred to as "Jiangsu Sunshine") combines talent strategic planning to build a lifelong learning platform that meets the characteristics of industrial workers. Jiangsu Sunshine has established a Sunshine Staff Training Base, invested millions of yuan, equipped with advanced teaching facilities, and relied on Sunshine Talent College and Sunshine Staff School, with a total of more than 8,000 people participating in 123 trainings in 2023. Jiangsu Sunshine selects personnel to scientific research institutes to learn theoretical knowledge, cultivate scientific research ability, and engage in targeted scientific research work in combination with project tasks, carry out joint training, implement independent training, and explore international training. Not only that, Jiangsu Sunshine has also fully implemented the "Professional Flying" plan, and launched three plans: Young Eagle, Elite Eagle and Eagle to build a Sunshine talent echelon. Jiangsu Sunshine has invested 5 million yuan to set up MBA courses, engineering master's classes, fashion art design undergraduate classes, textile design courses, and team management improvement training courses, and nearly 1,000 employees have participated in the study.
Colleges and universities and enterprises "hand in hand"
In recent years, wool textile enterprises have paid attention to the optimal allocation and resource sharing of scientific and technological strength of enterprises and universities and institutes, and have taken the joint construction of new R&D institutions by industry, university and research as the starting point to enhance the supply of disruptive technologies and provide strong support for the development of the wool textile industry.
Zhejiang Xinao Textile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Xinao") recently cooperated with Shanghai International Fashion Institute of Donghua University (hereinafter referred to as "SCF") to launch the "Sustainable Fashion Sports Wool Creative Design Cooperation Course".
In the view of Li Jun, Dean of SCF, innovation is the core of enterprise and education, and SCF exercises students' innovative thinking and comprehensive ability through the development of school-enterprise cooperation courses.
In recent years, Xinao has brought wool yarn knowledge into the campus in the form of classroom exchanges for many times, building a platform for students to learn, communicate and show themselves.
Xu Yiwei, an adjunct professor at SCF, hopes to cultivate reserve talents for sustainable sports wool design through young designers' sensitivity to the market, and also hopes that wool sportswear will present more aesthetic value and environmental protection attributes while ensuring functionality, so that outdoor sports enthusiasts can have more dressing possibilities.
Since 2011, Jiangsu Sunshine and Jiangnan University have further deepened the docking in talent training and industry-university-research cooperation, and completed dozens of innovative projects. Jiangsu Sunshine and Jiangnan University have carried out original technology research in new spinning technology, digital textiles, textile biotechnology and high-end textiles, closely followed the international and domestic textile and garment trends, combined with the concepts of environmental protection, health, ecology and comfort, and started from new materials, new processes and new technologies to develop new wool textile fabrics. It is driven by the dual engines of "innovation + talent" that Jiangsu Sunshine has realized model innovation and enterprise innovation.
Xinjiang Tianshan Wool Textile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Tianshan Textile") has cooperated with Xi'an Polytechnic University and Wuhan Textile University to create a multi-integrated R&D technology system and obtained 18 domestic patents. At present, it has mastered 8 key core technologies of cashmere processing intelligent equipment and cashmere R&D technology, and has reached the leading level in China. Tianshan Textile also makes every effort to build 6 major technological innovation and talent training platforms, formulates innovation project plans and process research plans every year, creates two "model workers and craftsman innovation studios" in key positions, and carries out labor competitions and QC (quality control) improvement activities every year and organizes evaluation and commendation. The company's scientific and technological personnel engaged in R&D and related technological innovation activities account for 15.25% of the total number of employees, creating a high-quality R&D team.
In the form of product research and development, talent introduction, project cooperation, etc., Shandong Nanshan Zhishang Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Nanshan Zhishang") has established good technical exchange channels and cooperative relations with Tianjin Polytechnic University, Donghua University, Xi'an Polytechnic University, Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology and other institutions of higher learning for a long time, improved the theoretical basis and level of technology research and development, formed an industry-university-research base centered on wool spinning technology, and promoted the continuous improvement of the market share of original design products.
Create the optimal ecology of production, education, research and application
At present, the wool textile industry is going through a critical period from technology leadership to industry leadership, and it is urgent to integrate more innovative resources, upgrade industries at a higher level, and collaborate at a deeper level to better transform scientific research achievements into new productivity.
Inner Mongolia Ordos Resources Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ordos") and Jiangnan University signed a cooperation agreement on "key technological innovation and product development of cashmere knitting production" in 2023 and jointly established a joint research center for cashmere knitting science and technology innovation. Focusing on the sustainable development and scientific and technological innovation strategy of cashmere, Ordos also invited cashmere enterprises, scientific research institutions, testing institutions, industry associations and social groups from all over the country to participate in the establishment of a strategic alliance for technological innovation in the cashmere industry. The alliance brings together high-quality enterprises in all links of the industrial chain, and is a technological innovation organization form with enterprises as the main body and a combination of production, education, research and application, which can not only effectively integrate technological innovation resources, but also promote the cashmere industry to enhance its ability to innovate independently.
Ordos Group has 6 innovation platforms such as the National Cashmere Products Engineering Technology Research Center and a technical R&D team of 406 people, established a complete technological innovation system of "R&D + achievement transformation + talent training", with an annual technology R&D investment of more than 100 million yuan, 46 independent core technology patents, a total of 46 scientific and technological projects, and 16 scientific and technological achievements have won the scientific and technological progress awards in the textile industry and above the provincial level.
In recent years, Ordos has established and implemented 16 major scientific and technological projects, key projects for rejuvenating Mongolia through science and technology, and transformation of scientific and technological achievements, and carried out the integration demonstration of cashmere industry-related technologies, the transfer and transformation of achievements, and the construction of platform carriers, which have effectively promoted the high-quality development of the cashmere industry.
In terms of the organizational structure of R&D, Nanshan Zhishang has established a three-level R&D system of cooperative research institutions, enterprise R&D centers, and workshop innovation groups. The first-level "cooperative research institute" takes the wool textile research institute, the wool innovation center and the Beifu Nanshan China Vocational Wear Research Institute as the platform to comprehensively use domestic and foreign technical resources to carry out the research and application of advanced technology in the field of textile and apparel; the second-level "enterprise R&D center" takes the fabric R&D center, the Italian R&D team and the apparel R&D center as the platform to implement innovation around market demand, strengthen the trend research ability, market planning and expansion ability and brand building ability; and the third-level "workshop innovation team" By strengthening the technical strength of the production line and optimizing the relevant incentive measures, the grassroots innovation unit is gradually formed, thus forming a top-down and bottom-up enterprise innovation system.
On the basis of the three-level R&D system, Nanshan Zhishang has also introduced international high-quality intellectual resources and carried out an international R&D layout. The Wool Innovation Center established by Nanshan Zhishang in cooperation with the International Woolmark Board carries the most cutting-edge technology and product research and development work of wool innovation. In the future, on the basis of the data platform of the International Wool Bureau, the Wool Innovation Center will actively cooperate with well-known experts, scholars and famous universities at home and abroad to create an open innovation platform to enhance the original development capabilities of Nanshan Zhishang.
Written by reporter Teng Huirong
Editor / Wang Danyang