WANG Yadong was appointed head of the Division of Rural Training and Employment for the Ministry of Labor and Social Security on 1998. He is responsible for developing policy related to rural employment, the rural labor market and rural-urban migration. Over the years he has worked in several divisions of the Ministry including Employment and Funds, Labor Markets and Employment Services. He has enjoyed Ministry support to attend several training programs. He was sent to the London School of Economics to study employment policy, theory and practice in the Department of Employment of the United Kingdom from February to August 1994. His first job after graduation was at the Zhejiang College of Financial and Economics as a teacher in the accounting department.

He is interested in how employment promotion can enhance environmental protection and sustainable development, particularly in terms of poverty alleviation. His master's degree in agricultural economics is from the Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (1990). His thesis, 'A Regional Market for Agricultural Products', was published in China Agricultural Economy in 1991. His bachelor's degree in accounting and agricultural economics is from Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics (1985).