HONG KONG, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On the afternoon of May 18, 2026, the press conference of the Youth Directors Growth Accompaniment Program (referred to as the “Qinglan Program”) was successfully held at the National Convention Center in Beijing. The event was jointly initiated by the China Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service (CASWSS) and Fudan Institute on Ageing, with special support from Neutech Group.
Chaired by Xu Jianzhong, executive president of CASWSS, the event was attended by distinguished guests including Wu Yushao, president of CASWSS and vice dean of Fudan Institute on Ageing; Wen Tao, executive director, CEO and president of Neutech Group; Han Hua and Chen Dongsheng, vice presidents of CASWSS; Deng Tianwu, director of the Ageing General Division of Ningbo Civil Affairs Bureau; Zhao Hailin, president of Liaoning Elderly Care Service Industry Federation; Huang Yanbing, executive vice president of Guangzhou Association of Social Welfare and Senior Service, and other guests. An expert committee appointment ceremony was held during the meeting. A total of nine senior industry experts including Liu Zeyang, Wang Xinghui, Yuan Zhi, Wang Guoquan, Zhuo Yongyue, Feng Sheng, Cao Sujuan, Zhou Sujuan and Liu Xiaobing were officially appointed, who will be responsible for curriculum design, mentor selection, quality evaluation and other related work. Yang Lijun, director of the Training Center of Fudan Institute on Ageing, elaborated on the curriculum arrangement, while Li Jing, deputy secretary-general of CASWSS, gave a detailed interpretation of the registration system.
At present, China’s elderly care service industry is in a critical period of shifting from basic availability to high-quality development, and from quantity expansion to quality improvement. There are 406,000 elderly care institutions and facilities nationwide, including approximately 39,000 registered elderly care homes, with hundreds of thousands of practitioners in management positions. Directors serve as the “core anchors” for institutional operation and hold primary responsibility for service quality. Nevertheless, the industry faces an increasingly severe structural talent shortage. Apart from frontline caregivers, there is an even greater lack of high-caliber professionals equipped with solid management expertise, professional competencies and innovative thinking. To address this challenge, the CASWSS, together with the Fudan Institute on Ageing, has jointly launched the “Qinglan Program”, dubbed the “Project Hope” for China’s elderly care sector. Derived from the ancient saying “Blue comes from the indigo plant yet excels it”, the program signifies that young directors will inherit experience from seniors and strive for self-transcendence. As the special supporter of the inaugural “Qinglan Program • Neutech Cohort”, Neutech provides resources, technological empowerment and financial backing for the initiative.
President Wu Yushao pointed out that since 2024, the “First Year of the Silver Economy”, the state has issued a series of targeted policies and made specific arrangements for the development of talent teams in the elderly care service sector. The core model of the “Qinglan Program” is “modular systematic training plus one-on-one mentorship throughout the whole process”. He elaborated six major features of the program. First, it adheres to public welfare orientation, offering free training and full-cycle growth mentoring services, with priority given to participants from western regions and private elderly care enterprises. Second, it focuses on systematic training. Curricula are formulated in accordance with the Training Outline for Nursing Home Directors (Trial) issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, following the three-stage progressive philosophy: Consolidate Basics, Clarify Principles and Reach Distant Goals. Third, it highlights whole-process companionship by assigning an experienced senior director as personal mentor to every trainee. Fourth, it emphasizes intergenerational inheritance to foster a sustainable industry culture of passing down experience and wisdom. Fifth, it integrates resources from all sectors to ensure high-standard program implementation. Sixth, it maintains full openness and transparency in all procedures. President Wu encouraged young directors to cherish this precious opportunity, cultivate professional dedication, and play an exemplary leading role in the industry. He also called on more senior veteran directors to join the mentor team.
Wen Tao, CEO and president of Neutech Group, stated that the group will fully support the “Qinglan Program”. This initiative is not merely a talent training scheme, but also a future-oriented fundamental project for talent development. He introduced that Neutech has long been deeply engaged in digital talent education services and boasts abundant resources in the general health industry. In 2024, the group officially launched the strategic transformation focusing on education, healthcare and wellness. It integrates years of accumulated experience into elderly care service scenarios to build a smart elderly care and health service system.
Wen Tao shared Neutech Group’s philosophy on elderly care: “Elderly care starts with aging prevention; education fuels aging prevention; technology empowers elderly care.” As the special supporter of the inaugural “Qinglan Program • Neutech Cohort”, Neutech Group will open up four categories of resources. First, it will make its self-operated physical institutions available as on-site practical training bases for participants, including Wecare Family Nursing Home, Ruikang Cardiovascular Hospital, Ruikang Stomatology Hospital and Neucare Phoenix Academy. Second, it will provide access accounts for the “integrated medical, wellness and elderly care smart senior care system”, enabling trainees to master data-driven management approaches. Third, the group will offer practical training equipment for smart elderly care IoT applications and online courses to help participants steadily upgrade their professional competencies. Fourth, it will share ecological resources and operational scenarios of city-level smart elderly care platforms, assisting trainees in connecting supply and demand sides, gaining traffic support and marketing empowerment, and realizing ecological coordination among institutional, community-based and home-based elderly care services. “Cultivating talents is neither a hasty task nor something we can afford to delay,” Wen Tao remarked. “The first cohort consists of only 100 participants, a modest number, yet they are vital pioneers in the industry. Neutech Group is ready to share its resources and capabilities, and work hand in hand with the association and research institute to steadily push forward this initiative in the long run.”
It is reported that the courses of the “Qinglan Program” are formulated in accordance with the Training Outline for Nursing Home Directors (Trial) issued by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Covering more than 20 courses, they fall into four major modules: policies and industry development trends, practical service operations, practical management practices and competency building. The training lasts for three years, featuring one centralized offline training session of no less than four days each year, supplemented by online tutoring, case discussions and field visits. The curriculum follows the three-stage progressive training philosophy: Consolidate Basics, Clarify Principles and Reach Distant Goals. Applications for the first cohort are now open nationwide. Eligibility for participants: Aged under 40, holding a college diploma or above, with over three years of working experience in the elderly care industry, serving as director or deputy director of legally registered elderly care institutions, possessing solid management experience and being passionate and responsible for the industry. Eligibility for mentors: Aged between 40 and 60 in principle, with more than five years of experience in the elderly care sector, currently working as director of legally registered elderly care institutions and equipped with extensive management experience and certain teaching experience.
The official launch of the “Qinglan Program” marks an important step forward in building the talent workforce for China’s elderly care service industry. As a special supporting organization, Neutech firmly believes that the long-term development of an industry hinges on whether it has a group of truly professional backbone talents. Supporting the growth of young directors is not one-way resource delivery, but two-way empowerment between Neutech Group and the whole industry. The practical demands raised by young frontline directors will drive the continuous iteration of Neutech’s integrated education, healthcare and elderly care ecosystem, keeping the company’s capabilities fully aligned with industry requirements.
Looking ahead, Neutech Group will continue to uphold long-termism, open up its core capabilities and resources, and join hands with the association, research institute and more ecological partners to jointly build an open and inclusive capability foundation. It will enable all young directors and elderly care institutions to enhance their management competence and service characteristics, and jointly drive the high-quality development of China’s elderly care service industry.
Contact: WeiLin, weilin@neuedu.com, +852 37953236
