Debugging production lines, recording data, testing equipment... At the final of the 3rd National Industrial and Information Technology Skills Competition held recently, the contestants were busy and orderly answering this "special exam question". According to reports, the competition focused on industrial Internet innovation and application, intelligent industrial robots, digital transformation of manufacturing industry and other fields to set up 6 events; More than 6000 people from across the country participated in the selection competition, with 408 teams from local and central enterprises and over 800 contestants advancing to the finals. Entering the industrial Internet innovation application arena, the contestants are carefully checking a device similar to a small production line, and are very skilled in operation. "Most of these players are from enterprises, and they have rich practical experience in dealing with various machines in the production line all the year round." The person in charge of the industrial Internet competition told reporters that the competition mainly tests the players' ability to connect equipment such as line layout and control, instrument installation, etc. In addition, to ensure the smooth operation of the installed production line and the intuitive display of business processes on computer screens, contestants need to have programming skills. "We have also artificially set up some small obstacles. Players need to find and solve them within the specified time, and put forward higher requirements for their comprehensive quality." "At present, China's industrial Internet has entered the stage of high-quality development and large-scale application, but the problem of talent shortage is still prominent. It is estimated that the talent gap in the industrial Internet field will be about 1.36 million in 2025. ”Wang Baoyou, chief engineer of China Industrial Internet Research Institute, said that the competition set up industrial Internet innovation application events, which will effectively promote the cultivation of industrial Internet technology and skills talents in all regions and industries, and provide talent support for the innovative development of industrial Internet. Industrial Internet is essentially a full chain collaboration of equipment, network, data and software, which requires a large number of talents with the ability of "OT (operation technology)+IT (information technology)". This event focuses on the new profession of industrial Internet operator and maintainer, designs the competition content according to the full chain of post capabilities, and sets the full chain task of "networking analysis collection development security operation and maintenance", which not only tests the OT capabilities such as networking and data collection, but also tests the IT capabilities such as platform configuration and APP development, and also requires the contestants to have engineering practice capabilities such as fault diagnosis and system operation and maintenance. In addition, the competition is linked with the professional construction of vocational colleges. In 2025, 285 vocational colleges across the country have filed for offering industrial Internet related majors with nearly 30000 students, covering vocational colleges and vocational undergraduate courses. "A considerable number of players in this team are from these colleges. Through competition to promote learning, education, training and innovation, it has strongly driven the construction of industrial Internet specialty and discipline development," said Wang Baoyou. Teachers from Baotou Vocational and Technical College won the third prize of the industrial Internet innovation application competition staff group. "This award is an active exploration of the college to integrate the cutting-edge technology of industrial Internet with the professional curriculum system. In our professional construction, the curriculum design is closely linked to the post capacity requirements of industrial Internet operators. The teaching content focuses on real-time collection of industrial data, production of full process intelligent applications and other tasks, aiming to cultivate highly skilled talents who understand both manufacturing technology and data analysis." Bai Jun, a full-time teacher of the Intelligent Manufacturing Department of Baotou Vocational and Technical College, said. Teachers and students from Changsha Aviation Vocational and Technical College also won the third prize of this award, which is a microcosm of Hunan's recent efforts to cultivate skilled talents. We provide incentive funds for industry education integration projects to leading enterprises and vocational colleges in the province, support the construction of new generation information technology, engineering machinery, rail transit and other majors, promote the selection of excellent engineering bases and modern industrial colleges, and cultivate a group of compound, innovative and application-oriented talents. Guo Feng, Director of the Personnel and Education Department of the Hunan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, said that in the future, Hunan will connect the links of competitions, talent cultivation and industrial application, so that the results of competitions can truly be used for industrial development. Wang Baoyou introduced that this competition has achieved three important results: firstly, typical application solutions. Focusing on equipment manufacturing, petrochemical and chemical industries and other key industries, a replicable and promotable industrial Internet system integration scheme will be formed to serve the digital transformation of SMEs. The second is the key technology verification path. A batch of technology routes that have been validated through national competitions have been formed in industrial control systems, industrial networks, and identification resolution. The third is to continuously improve the talent system. We will vigorously promote the construction of new professions and disciplines in the industrial Internet field, and promote the cultivation of a number of leading scientific and technological talents, outstanding engineers, large country craftsmen and highly skilled talents in the industrial Internet field. (New Society)