A specialized session focused on "New Models for Lean AI Talent Development in the New Era" took place on September 6, 2026, at the Tianjin National Convention and Exhibition Center, running parallel to the 2026 Lean Digital Innovation Conference. The event assembled over a dozen speakers from government agencies, industry associations, leading academic institutions, and prominent manufacturing enterprises, alongside nearly one hundred attendees, to examine how organizations can develop a comprehensive talent cultivation system aligned with modern demands—centered on the principles of "building a lean foundation, empowering with AI"—and thereby provide robust human capital support for advancing new quality productive forces.
In his opening remarks, Fan Jianlin, Vice President of the China Enterprise Reform and Development Society, noted that as China embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan, artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping the underlying logic of industrial development, with the ultimate impact landing on people. He emphasized that breaking free from the path dependency of traditional training systems and achieving systematic restructuring represents a core challenge currently facing corporate governance.
Section one: Top-level design leading the way with clear evaluation standards
Cheng Yu, Director of the Talent Development Division at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Talent Exchange Center, delivered a presentation titled "New Models for Lean AI Talent Development in the New Era," offering an in-depth analysis of the significant supply-demand gap in AI talent. He stressed that this gap is fundamentally structural in nature. Cheng proposed an integrated development pathway encompassing "demand, standards, training, assessment, and supply-demand matching," emphasizing the need to establish measurable, comparable, and transferable competency standards. He argued that talent evaluation must serve as a "baton" to address the industry pain point where capabilities are difficult to measure and there is no evidentiary basis for selection and development.
Section two: Strategy and organization working in tandem to build a framework for AI transformation
Yang Bin, China Chair of the Association of Business Process Management Professionals International and Chairman of Binchi Technology, presented "Enterprise AI Strategy Development and Implementation," proposing a five-dimensional model for AI strategy execution consisting of "cognition, strategy, scenarios, talent, and systems." He pointed out that what often hinders AI implementation is not algorithms or computing power but rather organizational execution paralysis. Companies must avoid the pitfall of prioritizing technology procurement while neglecting top-level planning, and instead deeply integrate AI strategy into core business operations.
Section three: Building native AI organizations to bridge the value gap
Wang Pin, Dean of the Talent Development Institute at Airui Group, highlighted in her presentation "Building Native AI Organizations" that nearly 90% of AI investments are failing to deliver expected returns, creating a substantial "AI value gap" for enterprises. She categorized enterprise AI applications into four profiles and noted that the essence of this value gap lies in an "organizational debt"—where operating rules remain unchanged and governance systems are absent. Wang proposed that enterprises should progress through an evolutionary path from "individual efficiency gains" to "node automation" and eventually to "node elimination," ultimately constructing agile organizations where humans and machines coexist symbiotically, transitioning AI from an externally procured service to an internally cultivated organizational capability.
Section four: Authoritative standards unveiled to fill certification gaps for hybrid talent
During the conference, the highly anticipated launch ceremony for the "AI Business Architect" certification program was held. The official announcement was made in the presence of multiple leaders, including Cheng Yu, Director of the Talent Development Division at MIIT's Talent Exchange Center; Zhao Yun, Executive Vice President and Party Secretary of AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's Party School; Wang Pin, Dean of the Talent Development Institute at Airui Group; and Liu Hai, Director of the Organization and Human Resources Department at Shandong Ronghui Industrial Group. This milestone marks a critical step toward standardization and systematization in the field of lean AI talent development within China. The curriculum is designed to cultivate strategic professionals capable of advancing AI from scattered pilot projects to systematic, scaled implementation.
Section five: Addressing the fourfold misalignment between industrial transformation and talent cultivation
Yu Mi, Professor and Director of the Teaching and Research Department at the China Dalian Senior Managers Academy, delivered a keynote titled "Lean Foundation, AI Empowerment: Exploration and Practice in Cultivating Hybrid Talent for the New Era." She identified a "fourfold misalignment" between industrial digital transformation and talent development—namely, speed differentials, cognitive gaps, supply-demand mismatches, and coordination bottlenecks. She shared explorations in building a new paradigm of "industry-ecosystem-oriented" talent cultivation, emphasizing the importance of reshaping the management foundation of training systems through lean principles while leveraging AI technologies to enhance efficiency in the cultivation process.
Section six: Focusing on practical implementation to build an AI hybrid talent pipeline
Wang Haibo, Deputy General Manager of the Talent Development Institute at Airui Group, noted that the core value of talent in the AI era is shifting from "what you know" to "what problems you can solve." Drawing on the policy context of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission's initiative urging central enterprises to conduct comprehensive AI training, he proposed that companies should develop "E-type" hybrid professionals integrating business acumen, data literacy, and technical expertise—individuals who understand business operations, data analysis, and technology simultaneously, serving as critical connectors between business and technical functions. He also introduced a five-in-one training paradigm covering "assessment, learning, training, practice, and evaluation," establishing a closed-loop mechanism that includes capability diagnosis, systematic learning, practical training, on-the-job application, and effectiveness assessment. This approach ensures precise alignment between talent development and job requirements, transforming training investments into measurable performance outcomes.
Section seven: Smart human resources driving organizational renewal
Liu Xiaoliu, Chief Digital Officer of Zhejiang Jiebo Human Resources Co., Ltd., presented "Smart Human Resources, Organizational Renewal," proposing that in an era of exponential change, enterprises should construct flexible, agile, intelligent, and compliant lean organizations. He shared practical concepts around "organizational AI plus socialized human capital," utilizing lean human resource supply chains, diversified employment matching, and full lifecycle talent management. Through socially integrated composite employment to build flexible capacity and smart human resources to upgrade organizational capabilities, he emphasized that companies can achieve comprehensive improvements in quality, cost reduction, compliance, and management control.
Section eight: Benchmark cases showcasing practical results and models
Gao Qing, Lean Digital Intelligence Expert at AVIC Chengdu Aircraft Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., delivered a presentation titled "From Excellence to Leadership: The Demonstration Journey of Building an Intelligent Lean Benchmark Factory," providing detailed insights into the construction journey and future outlook of an aviation equipment flagship intelligent factory. He emphasized that "lean is the soul, intelligence is the wings," noting that through deep integration of lean principles and intelligent technologies, production efficiency has significantly improved. He systematically introduced a progressive construction pathway moving from lean digital cells and flexible automation units to dark factories and digital workshop clusters, offering a demonstrative model for intelligent factory construction in the manufacturing sector.
Section nine: Three engines of value growth enabling systematic transformation from talent to organization
Zhou Shuang, Senior Consultant at the Talent Development Institute of Airui Group, showcased the practical implementation of the "talent empowerment, performance improvement, organizational succession" three-engine model for value growth through case studies of Harbin Turbine Company, Shandong Electrical Engineering & Equipment Group, and Jinzhou Petrochemical. She noted that although these three enterprises operate in different industries and at different stages of development, the underlying logic of lean talent cultivation remains consistent—the essence lies in gradually transforming individual capabilities into organizational capabilities.
Section ten: Roundtable dialogue confronting challenges and exploring innovation
In the roundtable discussion segment, guests including Zhao Yun, Executive Vice President and Party Secretary of AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation's Party School; Liu Hai, Director of the Organization and Human Resources Department at Shandong Ronghui Industrial Group; Wang Haixia, Head of the Human Resources Department at Tianjin University of Finance and Economics; and Yuan Jie, China Partner at Aon Hewitt, engaged in a lively discussion on "Innovation and Challenges in Lean Digital Intelligence Talent Development in the AI Era." The dialogue drew on diverse perspectives from state-owned enterprise practice, university program development, and human resources consulting, exploring frontier topics such as collaborative cultivation of cross-disciplinary hybrid talent, mutual recognition of competency assessment systems, and deepening industry-education integration.
In her concluding remarks, Zhao Yun from AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Corporation noted that this specialized session successfully integrated "lean" thinking with "AI" technology around the central theme of "talent." She called on all stakeholders to jointly build an open and collaborative talent cultivation ecosystem, transforming individual capabilities into organizational capabilities, and providing sustained internal momentum for the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry and the cultivation of new quality productive forces.
The Lean AI Talent Development Forum presented a complete picture spanning national policy, industry standards, strategic planning, and practical implementation. Participating guests unanimously agreed that when talent cultivation truly synchronizes with industrial development, Chinese enterprises will undoubtedly forge a hybrid management team equipped with both lean literacy and AI governance leadership, laying a solid talent foundation for high-quality development in the intelligent economy era.