Ma Liwei, a 38-year-old worker at Shanghai Urban Power Supply Co Ltd, never dreamed that his name would sport the title "chief," a desirable word normally associated with top management positions like chief executive officer or chief designer.

　　However, the technician was recently honored as a "chief worker" under the company's pilot program to select and award skilled staff without any age limit. It is aimed at encouraging more young workers to enhance their skills.

　　The program allows those with certificates attesting senior technical skills to compete for the position of "chief worker."

　　The firm grants the title after evaluating the all-round performance, including professional acumen, work efficiency and interpersonal skills.

　　The firstsgroupsof 59 employees out of some 1,000 workers, including Ma, gained the new title, which includes a salary hike of 200 yuan (US) a month.

　　Sun Zhiqiang, the company's human resources director, said that the "chief workers" will be upgraded once every two years, something Ma is looking forward to.

　　"The program pushes me to continuously improve my skills and I am confident that I will earn the honor again next time," he said.

　　The power firm is just one of many local companies that have taken measures to encourage young workers to upgrade their skills.

　　According to the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau, the supply of skilled workers, from locksmiths to welders, is far below demand in the city.

　　The city has some 87,700 senior technical workers at present, 6.2 percent of the total number. Analysts estimate that Shanghai currently needs an additional 30,000 senior technicians.

　　Analysts say the short supply of skilled workers is due to the preference local young people place in getting a cozy office job, which creates a big shortfall of skilled workers as older technicians retire.

　　Faced with this urgent need of skilled workers, the bureau has revised its system to rank skilled workers. The new system allows workers to earn senior title if they pass a test combining knowledge with skills.

　　In the past , a company usually selects a senior staff - aged over 40 years - to compete for the higher-tier title. This naturally dampened youngsters' enthusiasm.

　　"We are really encouraged by the new system, which pushes us to compete with each other without any age limit," according to Lu Weidong, a 29-year-old worker, who became the city's youngest senior technician in March this year.