Li Xiaojian has worked manual jobs for more than 40 years, doing everything from harvesting wheat to driving a truck. What he is most proud of is that his son graduated from college and found a white-collar job four years ago. "I hoped his life would not be as hard as mine, and the key would be education. I saw that people with better education have more and better options in the job market," said the 57-year-old from Shaanxi province, who only finished junior high school.

Li's expectations for his son are much like those of the Chinese government for the country's workforce. The world's second largest economy aims to raise the average number of years of education its working-age population receives by 0.57 years to 10.8 years in five years, according to the draft outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) released this month.

Improving labor quality is pivotal to countering China's weakening demographic dividend by raising productivity. It will also help with the country's ascent to becoming a global manufacturing power.