Highlights

• CNRE creates extensive vocational skills certification program covering 42 technical disciplines and involving 1,391 employees.
• First national vocational standard for rare earth refiners published, systematizing talent development in the sector.
• New training facility in Inner Mongolia designed to annually train over 800 technicians using advanced digital and simulation technologies.

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China Northern Rare Earth Group (CNRE)—the world’s largest producer of light rare earth materials—has launched an ambitious national-scale initiative (opens in a new tab) to build what it calls a “dual-engine system” linking workforce advancement with industrial modernization. The plan aims to align China’s expanding rare-earth value chain with a deeper domestic pool of certified, high-skilled workers—cementing Beijing’s push for technological self-reliance in strategic materials.

Building a Workforce to Match World-Class Ambitions

According to Baotou Daily, CNRE is overhauling its professional certification and training infrastructure to meet the vision of becoming a “world-class rare earth enterprise.” The company has created its own vocational skills accreditation station and now conducts independent certification exams across 42 technical disciplines, involving 1,391 employees from 16 subsidiaries—a record level of participation.

Since the station’s creation in 2023, more than 1,986 workers have earned new certifications across 14 qualification rounds. In 2025, CNRE added new national-level qualifications for rare earth metallurgists and materials technicians, along with “master craftsman” and “chief technician” tracks. The goal: form a “pyramid-shaped” talent structure that allows technicians to climb a defined career ladder while stimulating innovation at every tier.

Setting the National Benchmark

CNRE has also become the first in China’s rare earth industry to publish a comprehensive vocational skills standard, codifying job definitions, training requirements, and performance metrics for rare earth refining and materials production roles. Building on this, the company helped complete the National Vocational Standard for Rare Earth Refiners, which was formally publicized in August 2025.

The milestone effectively standardizes skill development across the sector—an effort CNRE calls essential to “systematizing the talent chain behind China’s rare earth dominance.”

From Theory to Hands-On Training

To close the gap in high-skilled workers, CNRE is constructing the first autonomous regional training base for rare-earth technicians in Inner Mongolia. The facility includes digital testing rooms, VR simulation labs, and pilot-scale refining systems capable of training more than 800 technicians annually using a blended model of theory, simulation, and practice.

Importance for the West

For Western audiences, this development highlights China’s long game: locking in not only material supply but also human capital. By embedding vocational systems into its industrial core, China ensures its rare earth leadership remains both technologically and institutionally entrenched.

As the U.S. and allies scramble to build refining plants, Beijing is quietly training the workforce that will run the next generation of magnet and motor factories—a subtler, but arguably more enduring form of industrial dominance.

Disclaimer: This translation is based on content from Baotou Daily, a state-affiliated publication under China Northern Rare Earth Group. The information originates from a state-owned source and should be independently verified.

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