By Wang Weijin, Research Team on “Fostering New Growth Drivers for China’s Economic Transformation”, DRC

Research report No.75, 2017 (Total 5150) 2017-7-6

Abstract: Weak technical ability and low quality of vocational education have greatly hindered China's economic transformation and upgrading. The lack of enterprise participation is the root cause of the inadequate development of vocational education, which finds expression mainly in the following facts. The students receiving education from vocational schools cannot meet the needs of enterprises; the basic policy framework for enterprises to participate in vocational education has not been established; the role of industrial partners is weak and the government-guided personnel evaluation system has led to the low treatment and poor development prospects for technicians. With reference to the new apprenticeship system, the German dual vocational education system and the World Bank’s pilot vocational education projects, China has gained some positive experience in playing the role of enterprises. This paper believes that to raise the vocational education quality needs to establish the principal position of enterprises. It suggests that the basic institutional framework to promote cooperation between schools and enterprises should be established as soon as possible; enterprises should have the right for personnel evaluation and the right to tap their potential; the government should issue more preferential policies to improve the treatment of skilled personnel; the barriers impeding personnel exchanges between schools and enterprises should be removed; the practical ability of teachers should be enhanced; more Jacks-of-all-trades should be trained to meet the needs of enterprises; the level of competency-based education should be promoted.

Key words: vocational education, principal position of enterprises, cooperation between schools and enterprises, technicians