When the flag of a national-level textile and garment skills competition was planted for the first time in Xucun, Haining, Zhejiang, this township known for home textiles and womenswear began rewriting its industrial narrative. On August 5, the Xucun selection round of the textile industry garment pattern maker/sewing worker skills competition concluded, with top ten finishers in both categories receiving certifications. The scale was modest, but the signal was clear: Xucun no longer wants to be just a 'scale highland'—it aims for 'standards highland' and 'quality highland.'
Event Background
The selection was co-hosted by Xucun Town People's Government, Haining Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, and Haining Federation of Trade Unions, organized by Xucun Garment Industry Association, with support from Zhejiang Garment Industry Association and Haining Vocational High School. Notable attendees included Li Xin, Vice President of China Garment Association; Fei Xiaofei, Deputy Director of Haining HRSS Bureau; and Fei Jie, Deputy Secretary of Xucun Town Party Committee. The competition featured two categories—pattern making and sewing—aligned with national standards, combining theoretical and practical assessments. For Xucun, hosting such a high-spec industry skills event for the first time signals a shift in local industrial governance from 'production orientation' to 'talent orientation.'
Notably, most participants were frontline technical workers. Fang Jianqiang, Secretary-General of the Pattern Maker Development Committee under Zhejiang Garment Industry Association, stated after the event that promoting learning and practice through competition helps workers identify technical shortcomings and standardize operations. This highlights the deeper intent: in labor-intensive garment manufacturing, the absence of skill standards often leads to inconsistent product quality. By introducing national standards into township workshops, the competition acts as a 'calibrator' for industrial upgrading.
Industrial Impact
Xucun's apparel industry has long been known for home textile fabrics and womenswear processing, with a complete supply chain but low added value. Ye Haibin, Executive Dean of Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Xingguo Research Institute, noted at the closing ceremony that this competition is an important exercise for Xucun's apparel industry toward 'digitalization, quality, and branding.' This implies that skills competitions are not just about selecting a few 'champions' but about embedding standardized processes into daily production, turning 'craftsmanship' into replicable operational norms.
From an industrial transmission logic, the impact on buyers and foreign trade companies is indirect but long-term. On one hand, improved worker skills directly enhance sewing quality and pattern precision, reducing rework and customer complaints. On the other hand, when Xucun enterprises can deliver orders with standardized processes, their bargaining power in foreign trade expands. Fei Jie, Deputy Secretary of Xucun Town Party Committee, emphasized in his summary speech the need to shift the industry from a 'supply chain center' to a 'value chain center'—the most practical outcome of skills competitions: using talent density to raise industrial added value.