Page 422 - 2018 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
P. 422
8 White Paper on the Business Environment in China
Vocational Training will boost cooperation between vocational schools and
enterprises to ensure the training matches with what
Traditional education institutions as well as Internet industries actually need. More work will also be done
giants are eager to make their presence in the training to tear down the barriers between vocational schools
sector. Major trends emerging in the sector of online and other forms of higher education, making it easier
education include 1) the integration of online and for students to transfer, he added. “We want the whole
offline platforms, 2) the diversification of profit-making of society to know that vocational and higher education
models, 3) the rising significance of mobile-end users, are providing intelligent support to the country,” Chen
4) penetrating into tier 3 and 4 cities and the continued said, adding that China not only needs to nurture the
expansion of businesses, and 5) merging and acquisition likes of Albert Einstein, but also the likes of Thomas
deals boosting industry consolidation (Deloitte). China Edison and Lu Ban, the ancient Chinese inventor and
has been recognized as “world plant” for many years; craftsman (Guo, Plan).
the energy-intensive, pollution-intensive, and low
value-added industries have created many jobs in China China’s vocational education system is now the
and effectively solved the problem of unemployment. largest in the world, with nearly 30 million students,
However, with the demographic dividend disappearing according to a report presented to the top legislature. A
and labor costs increasing, private enterprises are 2015 report by Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the National
being plagued by the shortages of skilled workers and People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, however,
meanwhile, millions of college graduates are unable pointed out many problems the system faces, including
to find employment. These challenges are attributable poor public recognition and fluctuating funding. The
to the structural crisis of the Chinese labor market: report, a result of the NPC Standing Committee’s first
shortages of young people and shortages of young survey of the vocational education, highlighted the
skilled workers, high pressures of employment resulting poor public perception of vocational education as one
from the expansion of tertiary education, and the of the principal impediments to its development. It is a
mismatch of migrant youth’s educational attainment widely accepted practice that universities cream off the
and employers’ needs. The Chinese government has best students, and after the big players have satisfied
implemented vocational education and training policies their hunger for new admissions, vocational colleges
to improve upon youth employment. These polices pick up the scraps. When it comes to finding a job,
include curriculum reform to enhance employability of vocational graduates are often excluded from applying
youth, the creation of a modern vocational education for top vacancies. The report said that while more than
system, and skills-upgrading programs for migrant 90 percent of them will secure jobs, salaries for most are
youth, all of which have significantly improved the labor far from decent. Statistics from Jiangsu Province show
market outcomes for Chinese youth (Tang and Shi). that in 2014, vocational school alumni were paid about
1,900 yuan per month on average, 40 percent of the
China Education Minister Chen Baosheng average for all workers. Promotion prospects are no less
announced in 2017 that China will take measures to grim. “This year’s intake do not need to worry about jobs
improve vocational education and raise its profile because some SOEs have already reserved vacancies
among the general public. Chen said 70 to 85 percent for them,” said Jing Baoxian, Party Chief of a vocational
of the 7 million college graduates produced each year school specializing in railway equipment. “But their
are from vocational education and they make a great lives will be spent on the production lines, with little
contribution to the nation’s development. However, hope of being promoted to management.” The report
there are problems with vocational education, which suggested honoring skilled technical workers and
means it is not attractive to some students, with many stated that technicians’ salaries should be increased. It
believing it has less prestige than other forms of higher also proposed new regulations to ensure fairness for
education, he told reporters at a news conference in vocational students in the job market (Gu).
Beijing. “Such thinking should be rooted out,” Chen
said. “Vocational education is just as important as Wu Jiang, Vice Chairman of the China Talent Research
other forms of education and it deserves respect, Society, described vocational education as a weak link
particularly considering its role in nurturing the in the national education system. “To upgrade industrial
talent needed for economic restructuring and the structure, China needs a large number of skilled technical
development of manufacturing.” He said the ministry workers,” he said. There are about 157 million people
422
Vocational Training will boost cooperation between vocational schools and
enterprises to ensure the training matches with what
Traditional education institutions as well as Internet industries actually need. More work will also be done
giants are eager to make their presence in the training to tear down the barriers between vocational schools
sector. Major trends emerging in the sector of online and other forms of higher education, making it easier
education include 1) the integration of online and for students to transfer, he added. “We want the whole
offline platforms, 2) the diversification of profit-making of society to know that vocational and higher education
models, 3) the rising significance of mobile-end users, are providing intelligent support to the country,” Chen
4) penetrating into tier 3 and 4 cities and the continued said, adding that China not only needs to nurture the
expansion of businesses, and 5) merging and acquisition likes of Albert Einstein, but also the likes of Thomas
deals boosting industry consolidation (Deloitte). China Edison and Lu Ban, the ancient Chinese inventor and
has been recognized as “world plant” for many years; craftsman (Guo, Plan).
the energy-intensive, pollution-intensive, and low
value-added industries have created many jobs in China China’s vocational education system is now the
and effectively solved the problem of unemployment. largest in the world, with nearly 30 million students,
However, with the demographic dividend disappearing according to a report presented to the top legislature. A
and labor costs increasing, private enterprises are 2015 report by Zhang Dejiang, Chairman of the National
being plagued by the shortages of skilled workers and People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, however,
meanwhile, millions of college graduates are unable pointed out many problems the system faces, including
to find employment. These challenges are attributable poor public recognition and fluctuating funding. The
to the structural crisis of the Chinese labor market: report, a result of the NPC Standing Committee’s first
shortages of young people and shortages of young survey of the vocational education, highlighted the
skilled workers, high pressures of employment resulting poor public perception of vocational education as one
from the expansion of tertiary education, and the of the principal impediments to its development. It is a
mismatch of migrant youth’s educational attainment widely accepted practice that universities cream off the
and employers’ needs. The Chinese government has best students, and after the big players have satisfied
implemented vocational education and training policies their hunger for new admissions, vocational colleges
to improve upon youth employment. These polices pick up the scraps. When it comes to finding a job,
include curriculum reform to enhance employability of vocational graduates are often excluded from applying
youth, the creation of a modern vocational education for top vacancies. The report said that while more than
system, and skills-upgrading programs for migrant 90 percent of them will secure jobs, salaries for most are
youth, all of which have significantly improved the labor far from decent. Statistics from Jiangsu Province show
market outcomes for Chinese youth (Tang and Shi). that in 2014, vocational school alumni were paid about
1,900 yuan per month on average, 40 percent of the
China Education Minister Chen Baosheng average for all workers. Promotion prospects are no less
announced in 2017 that China will take measures to grim. “This year’s intake do not need to worry about jobs
improve vocational education and raise its profile because some SOEs have already reserved vacancies
among the general public. Chen said 70 to 85 percent for them,” said Jing Baoxian, Party Chief of a vocational
of the 7 million college graduates produced each year school specializing in railway equipment. “But their
are from vocational education and they make a great lives will be spent on the production lines, with little
contribution to the nation’s development. However, hope of being promoted to management.” The report
there are problems with vocational education, which suggested honoring skilled technical workers and
means it is not attractive to some students, with many stated that technicians’ salaries should be increased. It
believing it has less prestige than other forms of higher also proposed new regulations to ensure fairness for
education, he told reporters at a news conference in vocational students in the job market (Gu).
Beijing. “Such thinking should be rooted out,” Chen
said. “Vocational education is just as important as Wu Jiang, Vice Chairman of the China Talent Research
other forms of education and it deserves respect, Society, described vocational education as a weak link
particularly considering its role in nurturing the in the national education system. “To upgrade industrial
talent needed for economic restructuring and the structure, China needs a large number of skilled technical
development of manufacturing.” He said the ministry workers,” he said. There are about 157 million people
422
