China to bolster vocational education, expand vocational college enrollment

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BEIJING, April 30 (Xinhua) -- China will use 100 billion yuan from the balance of the Unemployment Insurance Fund for vocational upskilling to enhance the ability of the Chinese workforce to land jobs or start businesses.

The decision was made at the State Council's executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang Tuesday.

An implementation plan for expanding vocational college enrollment by 1 million this year was also adopted at the Tuesday meeting to cultivate talent of various professional skills in order to boost employment.

The Chinese government puts great emphasis on vocational skills training. Premier Li Keqiang stressed the importance of targeted vocational skills training and saw that concrete goals and actions were laid out in this year's government work report.

It was pointed out during the meeting that the employment-first policy is a key part of China's macroeconomic policy framework as indicated by the Central Economic Work Conference and the Government Work Report. Keeping employment fairly sufficient is crucial for a steady economic performance this year. Stable employment is a first-order priority. In this connection, large-scale vocational skills training, including the expansion of vocational college enrollment, is a key measure to keep employment stable and ease the structural mismatch on the job market. The measure also underpins industrial upgrading and high-quality development.

Specific steps were adopted at the meeting for vocational upskilling as required by this year's government work report. Large-scale vocational skills training will be carried out, including over 15 million training opportunities this year and over 50 million in within three years. The training will mainly target skilled workers, and accommodate the needs of key groups of people for employment and those having difficulty in landing jobs. The government will support companies, especially micro and small firms in carrying out vocational training, and help struggling companies with employee reskilling to switch jobs. Training of safety skills for workers in high-danger industries will be intensified.

A special account worth 100 billion yuan earmarked from the balance of the Unemployment Insurance Fund will be set up to finance all activities of vocational upskilling. The account will be put under rigorous supervision and use of the money will be made public. Any cheating with fraudulent training programs for the money will be seriously punished.

Local governments will be supported to adjust their vocational training subsidy policies. All eligible workers are entitled to the training and subsidies.

The reform to transform government functions will be deepened. The government will encourage vocational schools to expand enrollment, and support companies and private actors in providing vocational training. In government procurement of services, private institutions shall enjoy the same treatment as their publicly-run counterparts. Efforts will also be made to enhance quality control of training to make it more targeted and results-oriented.

"The one-hundred-billion-yuan fund and one-million-people enrollment expansion plan are key measures to ensure stable employment and sustain high-quality growth," Li said. "Enrolling more students in vocational colleges is part of our overall educational reform. Educational departments must provide policy support to make vocational schooling more flexible. Currently we face employment pressure in terms of both high demand for jobs and structural mismatches on the job market. In particular, skilled workers are still woefully lacking. To promote high-quality development, we must first improve the educational level of our workers and instill a sense of professionalism and workmanship in them."

A plan for expanding the vocational college enrollment by 1 million this year, as set out in the Government Work Report, was adopted at the Tuesday meeting. Under this plan, the enlarged enrollment will tilt in favor of quality vocational colleges, high-demand disciplines and poverty-stricken areas. Vocational schools in eastern coast provinces are called upon to admit more students from the central and western regions. Separate enrollment plans will be made for demobilized military personnel, rural migrant workers and modern professional farmers. The percentage requirement of secondary vocational school graduates admitted by vocational colleges will be revoked. The enrollment scale for education from secondary vocational schools to vocational colleges in such fields as pre-school education, nursing, domestic services, aged care and modern service industries will be increased.

Another round of vocational college application will be organized ahead of the National College Entrance Examination this year, targeting high school and secondary vocational school graduates, veterans, laid-off workers, rural migrant workers and new-type professional farmers. An additional round of application will be run this October for military personnel who get demobilized this year. All eligible secondary vocational school students who graduated in previous years will be allowed to sign up for vocational college education.

Vocational colleges are allowed to organize independent exams for the enrollment enlargement. These exams can take place either before or after the National College Examination as appropriate. Veterans, laid-off workers, rural migrant workers and modern professional farmers are not required to sit exams for academic subjects but attend tests for professional adaptability or skills organized by vocational schools.

"Persistent efforts are needed for implementing all vocational training policies. We are pursuing, for the first time, vocational training and vocational college recruitment expansion in parallel, hence pilot programs must be carried out speedily," Li said. "The government must encourage companies to pay more attention to employee training and collaborate with vocational colleges in such training. This is of great significance for our future development."

The meeting urged the implementation of the Action Plan on National Vocational Education Reform. Flexible periods of schooling and diversified teaching models will be adopted and the quality of teaching will be held up to high standards. Work to align academic diplomas and vocational certificates will be intensified, and efforts will be made to see that vocational college graduates enjoy the same treatment as university graduates in seeking urban residency, employment and promotion. We must set the stage for more young people with well-trained skills to realize their full potential.

"The recent workplace safety accidents all involve violations of safe operation procedures. This reflects that there is still much to be desired in the professional competence of their employees," Li said. "High caliber workers are the backbone for achieving high quality development." Enditem

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