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Vocational schools beat universities in job market

2013-05-21 13:22 CRIENGLISH.com     Web Editor: yaolan comment

Vocational schools here in China have been set up to focus specifically on skills for the workplace.

At the schools students undergo intensive job training under some sort of militarized management for three or four years in order to sharpen their skills.

Many schools are reporting companies are battling it out to sign contracts with the students and many are even making reservations before the students' graduate.

Guo Meng studies at the Lanxiang Vocational School, in Jinan, the capital of east China's Shandong Province:

"I will graduate next March, but I have already landed a job. Most of my classmates have signed job contracts."

While many University students are reading for their degrees, students in vocational schools are getting ready to become part of China's booming assembly lines.

Experts say China is in desperate need for skilled workers to keep its economy running at its current pace.

Despite this need, many high school students are still opting to go to University.

James Darlington is with HR Export of Antal International:

"If you look at China or maybe the perception of what success means, vocational jobs don't necessarily come so high in terms of, you know, 'This is a good job for me' and, you know, 'I want my child to be an engineer or be a technician.' The promotion from the government about how important more vocational jobs are in China is important, because the profile of these jobs needs to be raised."

With the current squeeze on white collar jobs in China, many industries are calling for students to consider how they can better prepare for life in the workplace.

For CRI, I'm Lucy Du.

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