"I proved I have chosen the right path, and also proved to society that ordinary positions can achieve an extraordinary life," Ma, one of the many China Skills Award winners, said at a meeting focusing on national extraordinary technicians, which was held by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security in March.

The China Skills Awards, also known as the "Academician of technology," is a national professional skills promotion event held by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security every two years since 1995. It is the highest national award for highly skilled personnel.

Sense of achievement

Five other China Skills Award winners also shared their experiences and encouraged more young people to forge their dreams with craftsmanship. 

Jiang Yuhe, also one of the winners of the China Skills Award, who won gold medals in the category of chemical laboratory technology at the World Skills Competition 2022 Special Edition, recalls that entering vocational college was like opening a blind box of surprises that completely changed her life.

Now she has become the youngest teacher at Henan Chemical Technician College, the only higher vocational college in the chemical technical field in Henan Province. "I will lead more students to live up to their potential and achieve a better life," said Jiang.

Vocational education has not been favored because it requires more recognition. Many parents and candidates believe that vocational education is the "last option," and only students who have no hope of getting into a bachelor's degree will choose to enroll in vocational colleges.

In March, Chinese authorities issued guidance to boost the incomes and social status of skilled workers. China hopes the policies will motivate workers to sharpen their skills and make innovations.

Businesses will be encouraged to provide more incentives to technical personnel, including higher salaries and stock options.

Governments will grant skilled labor honorary titles and favorable treatment in areas such as housing and children's education to improve technical personnel's social status.

Demand for skilled workforce

The emergence of skilled personnel in China is inseparable from the efforts made by the government to attach great importance to the work of skilled personnel. Vocational education became one of the hot topics at the 2023 Two Sessions and has been highlighted in many reports and plans set forth by the Chinese government.

Xu Ling, vice president of Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University and also a national political adviser, said the large scale of vocational education is playing a supporting role in China's socioeconomic development.

For years, China has been pushing for the expansion of its vocational education system and vowed to boost vocational education quality in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

China's revised law on vocational education in 2022 marked the first time it has been revised since it was adopted in 1996. The law promoted equal job opportunities for vocational school graduates and advanced the quality of vocational education.

The revision stipulates that vocational education is as important as general education and that vocational school graduates should enjoy equal career opportunities. It also calls for enterprises to consider technical skills an essential recruitment prerequisite when hiring personnel.

The Ministry of Education told a press conference held in March that the enrollment scale of higher vocational colleges and universities has exceeded that of ordinary undergraduates for four consecutive years, with 5,466,100 enrollments in 2022.

There were over 46.55 million students at higher-educational institutions, including universities, colleges and vocational education facilities across the country, as of 2022, the ministry added. 

The Ministry of Education has stated that it will continue to insist on broadening the development pathway for vocational school students, offering a variety of employment and further education development paths to students who are willing and qualified.

More than half of all secondary vocational school graduates nationwide continued to higher vocational (specialist) and undergraduate studies last year. While maintaining a high employment rate, nearly one-fifth of the graduates from higher vocational schools are now pursuing further studies every year, according to the ministry.

Vocational education reform 

Chinese authorities issued a guideline to advance reform and high-quality development of vocational education at the end of 2022.

The country's vocational education reform will focus on developing a multi-form, multi-channel and sustainable education and training system and a cooperation mechanism among governments, industries, enterprises and schools.

Priority will be given to vocational education for industries such as information technology, numerically-controlled machine tools and robots, aviation and space equipment manufacturing, and biomedicine. Leading enterprises and vocational schools in these industries are encouraged to enhance cooperation.

More efforts will be made to raise faculty capacity in vocational schools for modern manufacturing, agriculture and service sectors. The guideline promised more policy support for vocational education.

More policy support for vocational education was promised in the guideline. Local governments are encouraged to explore new mechanisms for collaboration with the private sector in order to attract more private and industrial investment in vocational education.

(Cover: Students participate in the 2023 Jiangsu Vocational Students Skills Competition, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 11, 2023. /CFP)