BEIJING, March 24 -- A one-year program to give officials from ethnic minorities and underdeveloped western regions exposure to the working practices of central departments began on Tuesday.

This week 234 officials will attend a three-day training course on the ethnic work of the Communist Party of China (CPC), rule of law, the economy and on policies concerning ethnic and border regions.

Following the course, they will be despatched across 87 central Party and government departments, and major state-owned enterprises.

The course was run by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and the State Ethnic Affairs Commission.

In a statement released after Tuesday's session, the officials were told to "cherish the opportunities and make concrete effort to work in central units and improve their abilities."

Since it began in 1990, the campaign has seen 8,063 ethnic minority and western region officials assume temporary posts in central departments.