BEIJING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- China has released 13 new professions in order to keep pace with economic and technological development, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).

The 13 new professions, jointly released by the ministry, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics, include artificial intelligence (AI) technicians, Internet of Things (IOT) technicians, big data technicians, cloud computing technicians, electronic sports specialists, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pilots, agricultural managers, industrial robot system operators, among others.

As the Chinese economy is shifting from high-speed growth to high-quality development, new jobs requiring new skills and knowledge have appeared in various industries attracting a relatively stable number of workers, according to an MHRSS statement.

For example, with massive utilization of AI, the IOT, big data and cloud computing, technicians in these fields, who have high educational levels, are badly needed in the labor market, said the statement.

As industrial robots replace human labor in more and more factories in China, operators and maintainers of robots are becoming hot professions. The demand for UAV pilots has been growing rapidly thanks to an increasing number of UAVs used in plant protection, mapping, photography, supervision of farmland, logistics and other areas.

Experts carefully and strictly chose all of the 13 new professions based on relevant standards and procedures, and extensive social opinions have been considered.

In 1999, China published its first reference book on occupational classifications, which included 1,838 jobs. From 2004 to 2009, China released 120 new jobs in 12 batches.

In 2010, China started revising the reference book by adding new jobs, and finally published the latest edition of the reference book in 2015. In the past four years, as new industries bred many new jobs, China renewed the release of occupations.

The ministry said the regular releases of new jobs could help boost employment, reform vocational education and training, and make policies on the labor market.