The Luban Workshop program has helped strengthen Chinese enterprises' presence abroad by cultivating technical experts familiar with Chinese technologies, products and techniques in partner countries over the past years. 

The program, named after Lu Ban (507-440 BC), the father of Chinese carpentry, is committed to fostering professional and technical personnel for Chinese firms outside of China while boosting the employment of partner countries.

To help build the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, for example, the Djibouti Luban Workshop has offered four new majors feauring railway operation  and  maintenance and port-related trade. 

An official with the Chinese embassy to Djibouti said the Luban Workshop integrates the development of diploma education with vocational training in a drive to nurture talents for the railway, promote logistics economy in Djibouti Port, and facilitate Chinese companies to go overseas.

Meanwhile, a set of equipment for vocational skills competition -- designed and manufactured by the Tianjin Railway Technical and Vocational College and Tianjin Jiteng Technology Co -- has earned an invention patent and been designated as official facilities in the rail transport vocational contest in Thailand.

Yang Yan, a researcher with the Tianjin Academy of Educational Science, said the Luban Workshop program worldwide has opened over 40 specialty disciplines, all of which are in urgent need by Chinese firms looking to grow  in foreign markets.