Education Ministry introduces 40 new majors in the pivot to more advanced manufacturing and self-reliance. — SCMP
China is overhauling its vocational education courses to expand the pool of hi-tech workers for strategic sectors.
The Ministry of Education unveiled 40 new vocational majors on Dec 12 – more than half of them in advanced manufacturing and digital technology – to promote a digital, marine, and low-altitude economy, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The courses relate to hi-tech areas such as artificial intelligence, new materials, and biomedicine, for applications ranging from precision aerospace equipment to electric aircraft, and data security, the report said.
Some courses will also be in power generation, with new programmes on nuclear engineering and technology.
China has been overhauling vocational education in recent years to upskill the workforce as the country pivots to services and sophisticated manufacturing. It is also trying to become more self-reliant in its hi-tech rivalry with the United States.
China already has the world’s biggest vocational education system, with more than 11,000 vocational schools, including technical schools, and nearly 35 million enrolled students as of 2023, according to the ministry.
Over 70% of new frontline workers in modern manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, and modern services are graduates of vocational schools, according to a report released last month, supervised by the ministry.
The courses are updated annually and in the past three years, 85 new majors have been added, bringing the total number of vocational education programmes to 1,434, according to the CCTV report.
The ministry also revised the majors in 2021 to include more programmes on strategic emerging industries, the modern service sector, digital transformation and rural revitalisation.
Emerging strategic industries are among the few bright spots in China’s sluggish economy, with sectors such as drone makers hiring graduates – thanks in part to government encouragement.
In October, Li Chunlin, a National Development and Reform Commission official, said the low-altitude economy had created a huge market for drone operators, with the potential to create up to a million new jobs.
The sector has been increasingly touted as a new growth driver as planners look for potential in manned and uncrewed aerial activities, from drone deliveries and surveillance to flying cars and tourism.
The ministry also introduced new majors related to football, in a bid to “accelerate the development of a strong sports nation”, CCTV reported. – South China Morning Post
