Forty-six managers from local businesses were awarded professional certificates on Tuesday from the Shanghai Municipal Labor and Social Security Bureau, after passing a national examination.

They are the first group of managers in China to hold authorized certificates, which prove their reliable professional knowledge and ability to independently run a commercial organization.

The managers, with an average age of 40 and a university background, were selected from among some 150 local business candidates and given a half-year training program, which helped improve their all-round administrative skills in finance, production procedures, logistical services and many other fields.

It was part of Shanghai's strategy for economic development to educate professional managers to advanced international levels, Zhu Junyi, director of the bureau, revealed. The training initiative met the demand for such personnel and would help Shanghai face its WTO challenges.

Shanghai is the first city in China to set standards for professional managers. It has so far arranged five such training programs, attracting 383 local managers.