Qiu Dongyao, mayor of Ningbo, addresses the opening ceremony of the 2020 Ningbo Talents, Science and Technology Week which opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Ningbo unveiled an upgraded recruitment initiative, the Yongjiang Talent Introduction Plan, on Sept 18, as it looks to attract more high-caliber professionals to underpin local high-quality development.

The plan, released at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Ningbo Talents, Science and Technology Week, is an upgraded version of the 3315 Series Plan, a recruitment initiative launched by the city 10 years ago.

The new version will put more focus on the introduction of talent in key sectors prioritized by the city, including new materials, industrial internet and core foundation components.

Requirements for talent will be further lowered, while a more flexible recognition system which emphasizes personal capability rather than educational background and post titles will be utilized.

By 2025, the city aims to bring in 1,000 high-end projects and 10,000 high-profile professionals via the plan.

In addition, more efforts will be made to recruit young talent, with the aim of building the city into a youth-friendly city.

Outstanding projects or professionals included in the plan will be entitled to as much financial support as deemed appropriate by local authorities and will be granted a maximum of 8 million yuan ($1.18 million) to help them settle down in the city.

Qiu Dongyao, mayor of Ningbo, pointed out that "Ningbo currently needs talents more than ever" amid its drive to pursue a high-quality development pattern while addressing the ceremony.

The city boasts a congenial environment for talent, according to a report released on the same day.

The "talent ecology" of 32 major cities across China were evaluated in the report, which was jointly compiled by welian.com, the global Zhejiang businesspeople research institute at Zhejiang University, and liepin.com after looking at the economic strength, science and innovation capability, and social culture and life of each city.

Ningbo ranked sixth on the list, the same as last year, with a score of 76.49 points out of 100, behind only Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou.

Jobseekers at a job fair, part of the 2020 Ningbo Talents, Science and Technology Week which opened in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 18.  [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]