Emphasis is being placed on vocational education, with eye on producing more skilled workers, Cheng Si reports.

Students learn to operate industrial robots at a wire cable manufacturing factory in Deqing county, Huzhou, Zhejiang province, in April. The Huzhou Technical College paired up with enterprises to better cater to market needs when training students. (WANG SHUCHENG / FOR CHINA DAILY)

China is putting effort into improving the competitiveness of vocational colleges to secure a healthier development of vocational education even as some long-standing stereotypical views of workers' skills or lower social recognition remain tough challenges for the government.

Vocational education has played an important role in the nation's education sector in the past decades, with both the number of schools and students registering seeing continuous growth.

China has two vocational education systems managed by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Under the system managed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, some 2,423 vocational schools offer educational training that produces workers with skill levels — low, medium and high. The students get job-qualification certificates after the competition of courses.

The Ministry of Education manages another 8,812 schools offering vocational education, among which 1,518 vocational colleges issue graduation certificates equivalent to normal universities. According to the ministry, the population of students admitted to vocational colleges that issue such certificates reached 5.53 million in 2021, roughly a twofold growth from 2011. These vocational colleges provided over 1,300 majors, covering main sectors such as manufacturing and the hotel industry, as of 2021.

Legislative action has also been taken to lift social recognition and the acceptance of vocational education in the past few years. In April 2022, the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, approved an amendment to the vocational education law, which clarifies that vocational education has the same importance as normal higher education.

Under the newly amended law, vocational education systems now managed by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security will be better connected to help the students advance their careers after graduation. Vocational education and normal higher education will also be better connected.

According to the amended law that took effect on May 1, 2022, students with vocational training from colleges managed by the Human Resources Ministry can get their job-qualification certificates "transferred to academic credits "approved by vocational schools that are run by the Education Ministry. Those who finish vocational education at institutions managed by the Education Ministry can apply for academic degrees approved by regular universities based on their performance.

Chen Kai, from the Guangzhou Institute of Educational Research, told the financial media outlet Yicai that making vocational education run parallel with normal higher education means the country "will smoothen the promotion channel for vocational students".

Contestants take part in a vocational skills match in Huaian, Jiangsu province, in March. The event tested their skills in building virtual reality algorithms and VR motion interaction. (ZHAO QIRUI / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Regional imbalance

However, the imbalance of resource allocation between normal and vocational education and discrimination against those with vocational training in the job market that formed in the past few decades led to some problems that are yet to be fully solved, such as the imbalanced development of vocational education in different provinces and lower competitive skills of graduates from vocational institutions.

The recruitment portal Zhaopin recently released an evaluation report on vocational colleges, ranking 300 out of the total 1,518 it surveyed as A-rated ones, considering their education quality, employment figures and collaboration with companies.

These 300 colleges are mostly in southern and eastern provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong because of their well-developed secondary and tertiary industries and higher demand for skilled workers.

The vocational colleges rated B or C with weaker competitiveness are mostly located in central, northern and western provinces, including Henan, Heilongjiang and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region which have a weaker basis for the development of secondary and tertiary industries and a less friendly employment environment for vocational graduates.

In September, the China Vocational Education Association published a report on the country's vocational education development, pointing out that regional imbalance still exists because of the government's uneven investment and resource allocation. The report said vocational education resources have a "ladder-like distribution, decreasing from the eastern coastal provinces to inland areas". The vocational education gap between urban areas and the countryside is also a problem that shouldn't be overlooked, as rural areas "lack good teaching conditions and high-quality teachers".

A teacher instructs students on operating a lathe at Jiangsu Donghai Specialized Secondary School in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, in April. (ZHANG KAIHU / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Social recognition

Moreover, the lower social recognition and acceptance of vocational graduates have hampered the development of vocational education, which attracted the attention of government bodies and companies that wish to change people's stereotypical views of students who attend vocational colleges.

"I was told by my parents from childhood that only those kids with bad academic performance go to vocational schools and are trained as factory workers. It's a family honor being admitted to a university while a shame to go to vocational schools," said Chen Jiaming, a 34-year-old communications engineer in Beijing.

"These words are derogatory as I have colleagues who have mastered good skills," he said. "It seems that we've been taught that 'good children' should have a famous university degree and a respectable job with good pay. The long-standing stereotypical views about vocational students should be corrected, because I think what people can do matters rather than where they come from. All talent with good skills and knowledge deserve our respect."

Ye Junfeng, dean of Guangdong Machinery Technician College, said as the country needs a great number of scientists, the job market is also showing demand for skilled workers.

He said, thanks to government efforts to improve such workers' social status and salary, the public has shown a more inclusive attitude toward vocational education and skilled workers in the past few years. "The introduction of some world-class skill competitions also played an important role in helping change people's views.

"All in all, receiving vocational education is not a 'helpless' choice for students with poor academic performance, but a personal choice by these young people who have skills and enjoy technical research."

Zhang Honghao, the 23-year-old prize winner of information network cabling at the WorldSkills Competition 2022 (special edition), said skilled talent is a key power supporting the development of the country's manufacturing and innovation industries, and vocational schools play a very important role in producing such talent. He is now a teacher at Tianjin Electronic Information Technician College.

In October, the State Council, China's Cabinet, released guidelines that said China will produce batches of highly skilled workers to push forward the country's high-quality development, he said.

"While the future is full of challenges, I will do my best to foster more skilled workers with my knowledge and experience and guide them to contribute more to the country with their skills," he added.

Hairdressers put dinner banquet makeups on models during a national skills competition in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in March. Some 500 contestants took part in the event. (TIAN XI / FOR CHINA DAILY)

Employment scope

According to Zhaopin, the recruitment portal, companies' demand for vocational graduates saw a year-on-year rise of 29.4 percent from July to March, 5.9 percentage points higher than the average increase rate of demand for job hunters with other educational backgrounds. They also face less intensive competition compared to those with a bachelor's or master's degree. The competition index, with the number of resumes submitted divided by vacancies posted on the platform, was 51 for vocational graduates, 82 for postgraduates and 123 for undergraduates.

However, vocational students face pressure winning jobs or popular positions related to finance, technology development and administrative management.

Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin, said recruitment needs are related to job hunters' educational backgrounds and companies usually pay less attention to vocational graduates. About 17.2 percent of companies on the platform have vacancies for vocational graduates, much lower than the positions offered to undergraduates — over 65.2 percent.

"The vocational graduates submit fewer resumes on the platform — 2.14 on average. Undergraduates submit 5.29 resumes on average and postgraduates 8.37, which means the recruitment standards, based on educational background, discourage vocational graduates," he said.

"It will be helpful to know the job market and the requirement of companies and what they really want for recruitment and improve the skills that may be useful in interviewing for such jobs," he said. "It's necessary to expand their social circles and get actively involved in profession-focused activities or industry meetings to make friends in order to win more job opportunities."

He said with on-site job fairs reopening after the government optimized the country's COVID-control policies, vocational graduates can cast the net widely by joining both online and on-site recruitment campaigns.

Wu Guangming, deputy dean of Dongguan Technician College in the southern Guangdong province, said in an interview with Yicai that companies have larger demand for front-line workers, especially those in manufacturing.

According to the college's data, there were about 10,092 vacancies offered by 320 companies in Dongguan and surrounding cities at the college's job fair organized in June. Among the vacancies, 5,203 related to smart manufacturing, which is far more than the number of graduates in this major in the college — roughly 571.

Wu added that the companies usually recruit all graduates in manufacturing majors such as computer numerical control and mechatronics.

Contact the writer at chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn