Studying for Skills

By+yin+Pumin

Chinese education authorities have recently revealed that they will soon unveil the planned reform of the National College Entrance Examination， known as gaokao， which combines the current vocational training system with academic higher education.

Lu xin， vice Minister of Education， made the announcement at the 2014 China Development Forum in Beijing on March 22. She said that under the new gaokao system， technical capability and academic aptitude will be examined by two separate testing models.

Under the first model， a new syllabus will assess a combination of the candidatestechnical skills and textbook knowledge， with the aim of serving students who seek to enter into vocational professions， such as those wanting to become engineers， senior mechanics and high-calibre laborers.

The second model of examination， which is currently the form practiced throughout the country， will only test textbook knowledge and be suited to academically inclined students， according to Lu.

“This will enable students to make career choices at the age of 16， when they are still in high school，” she said. “Teenagers can realize their life goals based on their own choices.”

Under the current system， potential college students can only choose their majors after they pass a uniform gaokao， which thwarts the hopes of higher education for those who are especially talented in certain technical fields but not good at taking exams.

Tang Shengchang， a member of the National Education and Examination Steering Committee and former President of Shanghai High School， said that he is delighted to see the change， as it will bring positive and long-term improvements to the countrys pool of talent.

“The reform will allow both vocational students and academic students to enter into high-quality higher education，” he said.

A valid option

Education experts say the upcoming reform also reflects Chinas need for more highly skilled workers in both its hi-tech industries and those which are becoming more sophisticated such as construction and manufacturing.

Statistics from the All China Federation of Trade Unions show that the country has a shortage of 22 million-33 million skilled workers.“China is suffering from both an extremely short supply of technical talent and a shortage of jobs for college students，” xinhua News Agency reported.

Every year， there are about 17 million high school and college graduates entering Chinas labor market， according to data from the Ministry of Education.endprint

Under these circumstances， developing a strong vocational education system becomes one of the main solutions to the predicaments in the labor market， according to Ding Dajian， a researcher with the China Institute for Employment Research under the Beijing-based Renmin University of China.

At the same time， Ding pointed out the labor problem facing the country.

Currently， the phrase “technically inclined students” mainly refers to students from vocational high schools. Most of them will start looking for a job after graduating from high school. Only a small number of them seek further education in advanced vocational schools.

“For a long time， education in China has focused on academic learning because people only regard this kind of education as ‘reallearning. People dont pay enough attention to skill training， especially in basic education，” Tang with the National Education and Examination Steering Committee said.

“This has resulted in the countrys disadvantage when it comes to industrial techniques. For example， our architectural design is as good as other countries， but our manufacturing and construction techniques still have a lot of room for improvement，” he said.

Ding suggested changing the publics perception of vocational education. “There is neither lowliness nor nobleness in education. Vocational education is just a specific type of education， and it is equally important as academic education，”he said.

In order to elevate the reputation of vocational education， Ding suggested reevaluating the current rating system for educational institutes to make vocational training schools equal with colleges.

“This requires the authorities to change their outdated thinking and let each school or college play its role，” Ding said.

“Meanwhile， graduates from vocational training schools and those from colleges should be given the same opportunity for career promotion，” Ding added.

Lu with the Ministry of Education said that in China， vocational education has been focused on skill training， but in the future， the country will face a growing demand for people with expertise. This means skilled workers need to better equip themselves with academic knowledge.

Under a pilot program， 14 million students entered higher education institutes for technically focused vocational studies in 2013.

“In Shanghai， about 15 percent of high school graduates entered higher vocational education in 2013. I am confident of their future job prospects，” Tang said.endprint

The ministry will call on about 600 local universities， which account for 50 percent of the total in China， to transfer resources from academic education to applied technology and vocational education， according to Lu.

This means their education should be designed according to the requirements of specific jobs， and 150 universities have applied to take part in the new reform， she said.

Lu also urged the acceleration of the building of a modern vocational education system.“A modern system will nurture hundreds of millions of engineers， high-level technical workers and highly skilled laborers for China， which will help boost competitiveness for ‘Made in Chinaproducts，” Lu said.

China plans to offer “world-class” modern vocational education nationwide by 2020 to upgrade economic structure as well as improve the quality of its labor force and increase employment.

Measures to strengthen vocational education include giving vocational schools more independence and developing a talent cultivation mechanism under which schools and the enterprises jointly recruit and teach students.

The State Council， Chinas cabinet， also encouraged mixed ownership of schools.

Intl cooperation

Lu also called for strengthened international cooperation. “We will promote exchange between Chinese vocational schools and community colleges in the United States， and conduct cooperation with the Asian Development Bank and the United Nations.”

China will also continue to carry out cooperation programs with Germany， Britain and the Netherlands， and advance communication and cooperation with Australia， Africa and South America， according to Lu.

xiang yongkang was delighted to discover during a tour of Indonesia that local universi- ties have great interest in cooperating with his school， Guizhou Electrical vocational and Technical College.

The college， which is in southwest Chinas Guizhou Province and affiliated to the China Southern Power Grid， has already forged solid partnerships in Southeast Asia， including Indonesia， Cambodia and viet Nam.

“Cooperation in vocational education between China and Southeast Asian nations is new， but there is great potential，” said xiang， president of the college.

With high demand for skilled labor in various industries， vocational education has become a potential focal point for cooperation between China and Southeast Asia.

Southeast Asian countries have demonstrated dynamic economic growth， and their governments are encountering increasing demands for skilled labor to further develop industries and keep the trend going. With similar development problems and intensified cooperation， these countries have set their sights on China for closer links in vocational education.endprint

“We can see the interest in cooperation from vocational education institutions in the region， especially in Indonesia and Malaysia，” xiang said.“Indonesian enterprises are eager to hire more skilled workers， especially power companies， which offer a foundation to develop other industries.”

Indonesia has attached great importance to developing its industries and economy. In an effort to ensure economic sustainability， the government has implemented its largest economic plan to date—MP3EI—to ease Indonesias transition into an industrialized economy， expand its domestic economy and move up the global value chain.

Institutions in Southeast Asia are more likely to cooperate with Chinese colleges and universities， compared with Western education institutions， as Western technology and knowhow are too advanced for the region， xiang said.

“During cooperation with China in various industries， Southeast Asian countries find that the technologies offered by Chinese vocational education institutions are more suitable for their development and the cost of cooperation is lower，” he said.endprint