(A teacher (center) at a vocational school in Yongchuan, southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, shows students how to operate industrial robots on March 14 (XINHUA)

Graduating from a secondary vocational school in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Zhao Yunge now works for a factory that makes screws. His job is to deal with the waste water produced during the coating process.

"Compared to my colleagues who received regular education, my advantages lie in my manual abilities and ways of thinking when I encounter problems," Zhao told Beijing Review. "This is what I learned at vocational school."

Like Zhao, more young people in China are benefiting from vocational education in recent years.

High demand

"Since the policy of reform and opening up was implemented in China at the end of the 1970s, vocational schools have been an important source of talent," said Li Xingzhou, a professor at the Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University.

In January, a vocational education reform implementation plan was released by the State Council. With policies and measures to improve the national vocational education system, the plan aims to provide high-quality secondary and higher vocational education throughout the country.

According to a Xinhua News Agency article, the number of vocational colleges and student enrollment has been on the rise over the past decade, registering 1,418 and 11.34 million, respectively, in 2018. Colleges for vocational and technical training accounted for 53.2 percent of all higher education institutions.

In contrast to regular education, vocational education institutions teach students professional skills in line with the demands of the market and industrial development. "Some students find that regular high schools are not suitable for them, and they choose vocational schools in the hope of improving their technical abilities," Li said.

Graduates from vocational schools have been increasingly popular in the job market in recent years. In 2017, the rate of employment of higher vocational school graduates exceeded that of regular colleges for the first time, according to the 2018 Chinese College Graduates' Employment Annual Report published by MyCOS, a company specializing in higher education management data analysis. In recent years, over 90 percent of graduates from vocational schools have successfully found jobs within six months, accounting for 70 percent of the increased workforce in modern manufacturing and emerging industries.

However, there is a huge lack of skilled personnel in terms of market demand. Although workers with technical abilities number 165 million in China, they account for only 21.3 percent of total employment. Of them, only 47.91 million can carry out tasks that require higher skills. It is estimated that by 2020, there will be a shortage of about 22 million skilled personnel in the manufacturing industry.

Stereotyped ideas

Today, there is still a stereotype about vocational education in China, which thinks that only those students whose academic performance is not good enough choose vocational education.

It is not appropriate to label students who receive vocational education as "bad" students. In many professional skill competitions, contestants from vocational schools show their excellent capacities to think, judge, concentrate and demonstrate their manual abilities, Li said.

"Performance in academic study cannot be regarded as the standard for the evaluation of students' comprehensive ability and development potential," Li added.

Zhao participated in a chemistry analysis event in a national competition of professional skills and won first place in the secondary vocational school group in 2015, a highlight on his resume, which helped him find a satisfactory job. "It was recognition of my standardized operation and analysis abilities," he said.

Some people still think vocational education is an alternative for students who cannot follow the learning pace in regular high schools. "It is a gross misreading of vocational education," Li said.

Actually, vocational education pays more attention to the integration of theory and practice. For those who study mechanics, knowledge of science and computers and the ability to draw are all indispensable.

The lack of understanding of vocational education has resulted in difficulties getting students to enroll. Zhang Jie, Zhao's coach during the national competition, said that there should be more publicity to change this situation. Recently, 15 vocational universities were established in the country. This is a good way to help the public better understand vocational education, Li said. However, he pointed out that the fundamental way to change people's minds is to improve the quality of vocational education, combined with better employment treatment and an increased social position for graduates.

A student at a vocational school in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, practices tea art on December 10, 2018 (XINHUA)

Student orientation

Statistics show that since 2016, the scale of enrollment of vocational education students has been increasing, topping nearly 3.7 million in 2018. This year, the goal is to expand to 1 million students. To realize the target, the State Council plan called for retired military personnel, laid-off workers and migrant workers to join in.

To provide high-quality education for students, the first task is to improve teaching methods. The content of classes should be designed based on market demand and conform to professional standards.

At the same time, standards to evaluate students need to be enhanced. Students are now encouraged to obtain more professional skill certificates in addition to academic certificates in order to improve their comprehensive abilities.

According to the State Council plan, in order to further improve the quality of teachers, five-year rotation trainings for all teachers will be carried out in the future, along with the establishment of a one-year education internship and three-year enterprise practice for new teachers. Meanwhile, vocational schools will recruit more teachers from enterprises. Engineers, technicians and skilled craftspeople in enterprises will be encouraged to take on part-time jobs in vocational schools.

Li also suggested that student characteristics should be studied when strengthening vocational education. As energetic young people, they have strong personalities and a desire to succeed. They also have a good ability to adapt to new environments that can help them learn and master new skills out of curiosity.

Practice makes perfect

The cooperation between schools and enterprises has been closer than before. "Through this pattern, resources can be shared by both sides, realizing the complement of advantages," Li said.

"My classmates and I studied in a chemical plant for half a year before graduation," Zhao said, adding that they were able to apply what they had learned in school to the practical work in the plant.

Training in a real work environment offers valuable opportunities for students to enhance their competitiveness. Skilled students whose level of technical ability meets the requirements needed by enterprises are welcomed in the employment market.

Li also explained that schools can become a sustainable intelligent support for companies, while the latter can lead schools in cultivating talent in demand. In addition, enterprises provide information which show trends in relevant industries and updates in technology and techniques. In Chongqing Municipality, for example, training bases were constructed for 80 vocational schools, with one set aside for artificial intelligence and big data. Textbooks for these trainings were edited by both schools and leading enterprises and will be updated every two or three years.

Furthermore, apprenticeships in workshops also benefit teachers and students. By learning from experienced craftspeople and technical masters, both the skills and the spirit of craftsmanship will be inherited.

Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo

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