Vocational education woes a hurdle for China’s hi-tech industry ambitions

When Harry Chen graduated from a technical school in Shenzhen with a major in machine design, he spent some time helping a friend with module-building tasks at a toy factory to earn some extra money.

While Chen had struggled to master module-building software – a tool used to design assembly line components – during his school years, he later realised it was the overly technical, formulaic teaching methods that made it hard to understand. In real-world scenarios, with specific cases to work on, he found it much easier to grasp how to use the software effectively.

“Nearly all of our teachers were fresh university graduates with little practical experience in the workplace,” he said. “So they just teach according to the textbook.”

The deputy director of Chen’s department, who owned a factory, was the only teacher with first-hand experience in machine design, Chen said, even though the government has spent years advocating the recruitment of instructors with real-world expertise to improve vocational education.

Technical schools in China generally offer three-year programmes to students who have failed to qualify for university study. The lower academic requirements have led to such schools being stigmatised as inferior options.