China jobs: how Beijing’s vocational-training push is undermined by deeply ingrained education stigmas
- China is putting increased emphasis on training more blue-collar workers to help retain its ‘world’s factory’ label, but analysts say the effort is misguided
- Hands-on experience is traditionally less valued than degrees in China, and those who receive technical training say they are not taught how to do the jobs in their fields
After earning a technical degree from a college in Guizhou, 23-year-old Guo found it impossible to put his academic credentials to use in the real world. So, now he sells real estate.
“My major was supposed to correspond with machining parts in factories, but what the teachers taught was not really used in factories,” Guo said after putting his time and money into obtaining a degree in computerised numerical control, which focuses on the automated control of machining tools by means of a computer.
But Guo – who only provided his surname – said that most students in his class were not able to master the practical part of the course, and he attributed this to a lack of opportunities to operate the machines themselves. This left them lacking the basic skills to use the equipment during their final year of factory training.
“For example, I could score a 92 in programming, but when I got into the factory, I didn’t even know how to operate the dashboard,” Guo said, adding that teachers are mostly undergraduate degree holders, rather than skilled workers, which results in students not learning the necessary skills in practical courses.