The initiative is a partnership between provincial education authorities and Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, which together have launched a vocational training college for couriers at a local vocational and technical university. The academy’s curriculum begins with fundamentals such as traffic safety and workers’ rights, but its advanced tracks are what stand out. They fund drone technology training programmes in rural areas, with the dual aim of creating jobs for workers returning from cities and boosting agricultural productivity. In 2025, the city of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province held 30 drone training sessions, subsidising 606 trainees with 808,000 yuan (about US$115,400). “We also provide job referrals to trainees, delivering a one-stop service from training to employment,” said Gao Minqiang, an official from the local human resources department.