China has recognised “drone swarm flight planner” as a new profession in the country’s latest official list of new job titles, to reflect growing demand for technology-related skill sets – especially in the emerging low-altitude economy, Xinhua reports.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security also added electronic circuit designer, generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems tester and intelligent warehouse maintenance worker to the list, which saw 42 new additions last week.
Wang Linlin, from Tianjin’s Nankai University Business School, noted that more than 70 percent of the new occupations were in sectors “covering cutting-edge fields such as digital economy, green energy and intelligent manufacturing.”
[See more: ‘Live-streamer’ is now an official job title in China]
McKinsey has estimated that the country will need six million AI professionals by 2030 but may face a shortfall of four million. The widening digital talent gap is currently estimated at 25 to 30 million workers.
To help address the shortfall, China has introduced AI programmes in more than 500 universities – described by Xinhua as “one of the fastest expansions of academic disciplines in its history.”
China’s drone market, meanwhile, is forecast to experience continuous growth until 2029, when it will be worth more than 600 billion yuan (US$82.8 billion) by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 25.6 percent. About 350 vocational colleges nationwide offered three-year programmes in drone application technology as of 2024.
