Shanghai is recognized as the birthplace of vocational education in China. In 1917, Huang Yanpei, the father of modern vocational education in China, initiated the National Association of Vocational Education of China (NAVEC) with the cooperation of reputable educators and influential figures from industries. With the promotion and improvement of vocational education as its objective, the association vigorously carried out vocational education by actively setting up vocational schools. The efforts of the association secured an equal footing for vocational education with regular education in the modern education system in China. However, due to the prolonged plagues of foreign aggression, civil strife, and languishing business, it was impossible for the modern industry of China to develop, let alone vocational education.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, there has been a revival of vocational education. Moreover, since 1950, secondary vocational education and skilled worker training have been integrated into the national development agenda. This integration has played a vital role in restoring and developing the national economy, as well as cultivating various kinds of talents and maintaining the systematic support of the labor force for the country. Thereafter, various types of vocational and technical schools, including work-study and farm-study schools, were developed and became successful as evident in the improvement of standards of industrial and agricultural production technologies, as well as the cultural and the skill levels of the public.

Reform and opening up of China has ushered vocational education into a new phase of development. In the last few years, Shanghai has made continuous and sustainable progress in its vocational education through reforms aimed to improve its service, employment, and profit levels. A modern vocational education system has been emerging. Some 135 secondary vocational schools were allowed in 2005 to recruit students, with 243,900 registered students in schools. The graduate employment rate in that year was 98.32%. In the senior high school phase, the regular/vocational education ratio was about half and half. There were 168,700 registered students studying in 61 institutions of higher vocational education. The graduate employment rate was 96.18%. More than 2,000 private educational organizations obtained approval for operation. Most large and medium-sized state-owned enterprises had established their own training centers. There were 126 technical colleges for adults in the townships.

In recent years, Shanghai has taken the following measures to promote the healthy development of vocational education. First, Shanghai has restructured the layouts and specializations. During the Tenth Five-Year Plan, 185 secondary vocational schools were merged into 135, with the average student population increasing from below 1,000 to over 1,500. More than 20 new independent institutes of higher vocational education were established, resulting in an additional 90,000 students. Of all the specializations in secondary and higher vocational schools, primary, secondary, and tertiary industries accounted for 3.09% and 3.2%, 24.44% and 28.3%, and 72.47% and 68.5%. This proportional structure could basically meet the needs of industrial restructuring in Shanghai. There were 100 key specializations at the secondary level, eight of which were at national level; and 17 national-level training centers were in operation for urgently needed talents. There were also 23 national-level specializations at the higher level.

Second, Shanghai has intensified its reforms in vocational education in order to establish a modern vocational education system that is well connected across different levels, balanced in structure, as well as diverse in functions. Specifically:

Cooperation was encouraged between schools and enterprises in vocational education. Most vocational schools established alliances with business and enterprises for career guidance or teaching reform. Secondary vocational schools had more than 2,000 internship bases in business and enterprises.
Numerous sectors were involved in the operation of vocational schools. The vocational education in Shanghai has evolved a new pattern in which government dominates, enterprises and corporations assist, and private sectors participate. There are two independent secondary vocational schools co-run by Shanghai and Taiwan; 16 schools have specializations offered through Sino-Foreign joint efforts. The higher vocational education projects co-run with foreign partners account for the majority in Shanghai education system, covering about 60 specializations, such as electronics and electricity, communication and information, processing and manufacture, trade services, tourism, broadcasting, film and television. There are 14 private higher vocational schools, accounting for a quarter of the yearly total enrolment.
Shanghai has also reformed the way of running schools. The establishment of comprehensive senior high technical schools and the adoption of a credit system are underway.
Secondary and higher vocational schools have become important for on-the-job training, trans-employment training, and reemployment training. Technical schools for adults in townships, businesses, and enterprises also played a significant role in vocational training.
Shanghai has intensified the reforms in the personnel system of vocational education, specifically the tenure system. Shanghai is the first city in China to implement the system of professional titles in higher vocational schools. A united appraisal committee of higher vocational education was organized to appraise the academic and technical competence of teachers.

Third, Shanghai has also diversified its fund-raising channels for vocational education in an effort to establish demonstration vocational schools and promote the overall quality of vocational education. Shanghai allocates 22% of the extra funds for urban education to secondary vocational education and sets aside special funds for higher vocational education. After completing ten modern standardized secondary vocational schools, Shanghai has focused on six projects of vocational education:

Building 100 secondary vocational schools;
Speeding up the building of ten demonstration higher vocational schools and elevating at least five of them into the national-level demonstration higher vocational schools;
Building an information platform for vocational education consisting of campus networks, multimedia classrooms, and electronic reading rooms;
Opening training centers in light of the developmental needs of modern manufacturing and service industries with the assistance of vocational schools;
Reforming vigorously the curriculum of secondary vocational schools;
Enhancing teachers’ professional competence. Ninety-five percent of full-time teachers in secondary vocational education have a bachelor’s degree or above, while 42% are teachers with dual qualifications.

The six projects have changed the misconception that vocational schools can hardly develop into top-notch educational institutions and enhanced the overall quality of secondary-vocational education in Shanghai.

Shanghai has adopted a cost-sharing scheme in raising funds for secondary vocational education; that is, the MEC, sponsoring corporations, and schools share the cost of investment. This strategy proves very effective as it optimizes the scarce resources from government and improves the quality of school facilities.

2. Prioritizing Market and Employment

It is a widely accepted trend that vocational education must be developed with a focus on the market and employment. Before the 1980s, vocational education in Shanghai operated under the planned economic system. Vocational schools were run by enterprises, which provided students with employment upon graduation. Thus, employment was not an issue then. After the emergence of market economy in China, enterprises no longer shouldered the responsibility of financing and running vocational schools as they faced higher risks in business development and a more fierce competition in the profit-oriented market. Vocational schools originally run by enterprises started to receive support from the government and became comparatively independent. Consequently, enterprises were no longer responsible for graduates’ employment. Both graduates and enterprises had to choose each other during the employment process, which implied that graduates had to compete in the job market. Therefore, it became important for vocational schools to adjust their specializations and teaching methods in order to improve graduates’ technical skills and employment-oriented competence.

From the perspective of school operation, vocational schools take the initiative to respond to the market demand and strengthen their collaboration with enterprises. Many vocational schools have abandoned the traditional pattern of“making decisions behind closed doors.” They started to mobilize various stakeholders, especially the school direction committees and the parents’ associations, to promote mutual understanding among enterprises, parents, society, and the labor market in terms of the running of schools.

From the perspective of functional orientation, the objective of vocational schools has been transformed from “landing one job” to a more open education of sustainable development of human resources, establishing the human-oriented, lifelong educational concept, putting in place a system under which degree-targeted education and non-degree training are both carried out, and attaching equal importance to various certificates. Vocational schools actively conduct corporate training programs, which have expanded the educational function of vocational schools.

In terms of specialization development, vocational schools cater to market demand. Many schools have developed characteristic specializations in accordance with the industrial restructuring in Shanghai. The creation of these specializations is based on a grasp of the actual demand of regional economic and social development for talents, the students’ needs, and their learning ability.

A series of reforms catering to career and employment have been carried out. The thrust in curriculum design is to de-emphasize theory but to underscore practical skills. Consequently, teaching methods have also experienced sweeping changes. One noticeable change, for example, is the adoption of such effective teaching methods as the Credit Hour System, the Task-Oriented System, the Modular Conformity, and the On-Site Teaching Method. The Credit Hour System has been implemented by schools as an approach to assess students’ academic performance. Students may graduate so long as they obtain all the required credit hours. Those who fail to do so may continue their studies even after they are employed. Once they have obtained enough credit hours, they receive their diplomas.

A program has been proposed in vocational schools, which is called Teachers with Dual Qualifications. The dual-qualifications system requires teachers of any specialization to conduct courses in two areas: theory and hands-on skills. Due to historical reasons, teachers in vocational schools are strong at imparting theoretical knowledge, but relatively weak at practical skills. In order to remedy this state of affairs, many schools invite technical personnel from enterprises to work as part-time teachers on the one hand, and encourage full-time teachers to gain first-hand experience by working in the factories, attend training courses on technical skills, and obtain professional certificates. These efforts have all enhanced the quality of teachers.

3. Developing Key Secondary Vocational Schools

The MEC of Shanghai and Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau decided to build 100 key secondary vocational schools in Shanghai in March 2001. So far, 79 of them have passed the appraisal of the Shanghai Education Evaluation Institute and been approved by the MEC of Shanghai and Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau.

The program of building 100 key schools received a total investment of RMB 1.42 billion, with RMB 160 million (11%) contributed from the municipal government, RMB 740 million (52%) from employment units, and RMB 520 million (37%) from schools. Nearly 2,000 training centers were built for secondary vocational schools. About 100% of compulsory experiments were conducted and so were 96% of the on-site professional training centers. Thirty-three secondary vocational schools started reforms on the credit-hour system, accounting for 33% of all schools of this type. The number of full-time teaching staff increased by 10% and 95% of them were degree holders, 5% with a master’s degree, 75% with intermediate or senior professional titles, and 42% of full-time teachers with dual qualifications.

A comparison of the school facilities in 75 secondary vocational schools between 2001 and 2003 shows the remarkable achievements of this program. The school area increased from 5,579 mu to 6,172 mu, with an additional area of near 600 mu; the school floor space increased from the original 2.3 million square meters to 2.75 million square meters, with an extra 450,000 square meters in total and an average increase of 30,000 square meters for each school. The original value of the equipment property of the 75 secondary vocational schools jumped from RMB 710 million in 2001 to RMB 1.02 billion in 2003, with a 44% growth or an average rise of RMB 13.6 million for each school.

To centralize the limited educational resources, some schools were merged. In 2003, 205 vocational schools were merged into 135, among which 58 were special secondary schools, 46 vocational schools, and 45 schools for skilled workers. The average student population increased from below 1,000 per school to over 1,500.

In 2004 and 2005, 50 secondary vocational schools were recognized as key national schools of vocational education. With support from the district government and local industries, Shanghai vocational schools have made noticeable improvements in infrastructure and facilities. Statistical data on the first batch of 32 national key secondary vocational schools indicates that the school area increased by more than 400 mu; the floor space increased by 50,000 square meters; registered students reached 84,000, with an increase of 15,700, taking up approximately one-third of the total student population of secondary vocational schools in Shanghai; the full-time teachers also increased by 26%. Teachers with master’s degrees increased by 38%, teachers with senior professional titles by 39%, and full-time teachers with dual qualifications by 40%. Unprecedented progress was also made in the deployment of information technology.

4. Developing 100 Key Specializations

In 1998, Shanghai launched a program to develop key specializations in secondary vocational schools for various purposes. Today, 100 key specializations have been developed in the following areas: Farming and Forestry (2 specializations); Resources and Environment (1); Civil and Hydraulic Engineering (7); Processing and Manufacture (35); Transportation (7); Information Technology (5); Medicine and Health (5); Business, Trade, and Tourism (23); Finance and Economics (3); Arts and Sports (11); and Social Affairs (1). The distribution by industry is 3% for the primary industry, 42% for the second industry, and 55% for the third industry, tallying roughly with the industrial structure of Shanghai.

The development of key specializations has promoted the educational reform and favored students’ employment. The curriculum, teaching plans, and contents of courses are all based on the market demands and students’ needs of development. In the learning process, the schools insist on employment as the guidance, design student-oriented teaching plans, adjust course contents, optimize knowledge structure, strengthen practical training, and link up training programs with professional credentials. Statistics show that the recruitment and employment of students in key specializations enjoy a higher rate than the average.

Apart from having stable funding, these key specializations also have various experimental facilities, on-site training bases, and unique simulation equipment. According to available statistics, the third batch of 19 recognized key specializations have attracted in the past three years a total investment of RMB 28.925 million and purchased experimental and on-site training facilities worth RMB 12.656 million. Each key specialization has established its own training centers off campus. Over 99% of the specializations have carried out on-site training programs.

The development of key specializations has also improved the quality of teaching through enhanced teacher training programs.

5. Inter-regional Joint Recruitment and School Management

Shanghai’s vocational education is based locally but aims to serve the nation. It has trained qualified talents of various professions for other provinces and cities, particularly those in the central and western regions of China. In 2005, the secondary vocational schools in Shanghai enrolled 10,010 junior middle school graduates from other provinces and cities, an increase of 234% against that in 2004.

Three methods have been adopted by Shanghai vocational schools in carrying out regional joint recruitment and cooperative school management. First, these secondary vocational schools practice nationwide recruitment. Based on an employment-oriented principle, these schools have tailored their specializations to the job markets in those regions where students are enrolled. At the same time, these schools have also established specializations related to new industries and specializations with severe shortage of human resources in order to help graduates from other regions secure employment. The main recruitment sources include junior high school graduates from 26 provinces and cities, such as Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Shaanxi. The total enrolment in 2005 was 4,029 students, and most of them were from West China, the old northeastern industrial base, and the Yangtze River Delta Area. Second, Shanghai has carried out a program of joint recruitment and cooperative school management. Under the arrangement of the MEC of Shanghai, 18 secondary vocational schools implemented this program with eight provinces and cities, such as Yunnan, Xinjiang, Tibet, Hubei, and Chongqing. In 2005, 14 schools in Shanghai entered into agreements with 25 schools in other regions for joint recruitment and cooperative school management. Third, the vocational schools in Shanghai established branches in other regions, adopting the “2 +1” pattern of school management. Students spend the first one or two years studying in western China and in schools located in rural areas, and spend the last year in Shanghai-based schools to study specialized skills and conduct graduation fieldwork. Under the scheme of pairing up one vocational school (in Shanghai) with one vocational school in western China or the rural areas, the Shanghai-based vocational schools have helped enhance the overall quality of their counterparts through sharing advanced educational concepts and experience of management and teaching.

Measures have been taken to provide secondary vocational education for adults and technical training to migrant workers. In 2005 secondary vocational schools, secondary technical and specialized schools for adults enrolled altogether 3,900 migrant workers. This has greatly improved the quality of urban workers, making them more capable of contributing to Shanghai’s urban construction.

In order to strengthen the program of inter-regional joint recruitment and cooperative school management, SMG allocated RMB 10 million to reward schools implementing the program. For each student enrolled from other areas, the school gets a reward of RMB 3,000. In view of the difference in income and living standards between different regions of China, Shanghai’s vocational schools established a tuition standard that takes account of the students’ places of origin. In addition, scholarships, stipends, tuition reduction or exemption have also been provided to those students.

Cooperative school management can provide teachers from other regions with opportunities to further their education and enable outstanding teachers in Shanghai to work temporarily in other areas. In order to enhance the quality of teaching in the joint venture schools, the Shanghai-based secondary vocational schools have planned to arrange for 100 teaching and administrative staff from the aided areas to come to Shanghai for three years of training. At the same time, 250 outstanding teachers and administrative personnel will be dispatched to those areas for teaching and supervisory work. This has boosted exchanges and cooperation between schools in Shanghai and those areas.

6. Talent Training by “Order”

Talent training by “order” refers to an education mode in which enterprises inform vocational schools about the knowledge and skills expected of their potential employees while schools try to foster talents according to this “order.” If these students meet enterprises’ requirements, they are employed upon graduation. This type of cooperation between enterprises and vocational schools stimulates schools to update their curricula, enhance students’ mastery of technical skills, and raise graduates’ employment rate. Such cooperation can also attract enterprises to lend more support to vocational education.

Talent training by “order” consists of two main types: Entitled Classes and Commissioned Classes. The former is made up of students selected by enterprises through examination out of the freshmen in the vocational schools. The enterprises cooperate with the schools in formulating an educational plan, selecting course books, or writing their own course books. While enterprises send technical personnel to these classes as part-time and full-time teachers, the schools also visit these enterprises on field trips. With regard to Commissioned Classes, enterprises propose the number of students and formulate detailed requirements while vocational schools modify accordingly their educational plan and gear the education toward the goal of securing employment for the graduates. Enterprises conduct examinations and interview graduates upon their graduation and employ the successful ones.

Talent training by “order” also propelled curriculum development. Every year, multinational corporations, such as Toyota and GM, provide Shanghai Transportation School with the latest automobile information and materials, while the latter compile more suitable course materials for the students “ordered.” These course materials exemplify the organic integration of theory and practice with more emphasis on practical skills training that is seamlessly linked with what the potential employers require.

Talent training by “order” has also created many training opportunities for teachers of vocational schools. For instance, Shanghai Petrochemical Industrial School invited foreign experts to conduct training sessions on practical skills for its teachers. Bayer Group and Basf Group have both assigned experts from their German headquarters to work at vocational schools in Shanghai and supervise the learning activities of their Entitled Classes. Shanghai Secco Petrochemical Co. Ltd. also invited three experts from Britain, America, and Australia to organize training sessions for its teachers.

Enterprises have also provided financial support to vocational schools, such as setting up special scholarships and grant subsidies to students. Some enterprises supply schools with equipment and materials necessary for fieldwork; some establish training centers in vocational schools. For instance, Bayer Group invested one million Euro for the building of a training center in Shanghai Petrochemical School. Shanghai Secco Petrochemical Co. Ltd. furnished the same school with RMB 1.5 million as a training fee and allocated RMB 80,000 as the Secco Scholarship. The German Corporation Degussa purchased 250,000 Euro-worth of equipment in the building of a training center and financed key teachers’ overseas training programs.

7. Enhancing Career Guidance and Employment

In response to reform and socio-economic development, vocational schools in Shanghai have provided effective employment guidance to their graduates, thereby sharpening their skills in the employment market.

Over the past several years, career guidance in vocational education has evolved from simply introducing graduates to enterprises to the promotion of students’ professional quality and comprehensive competence. In other words, the focus of career guidance has shifted from landing a job to the overall planning of a career life, covering the selection of profession, survival, competition, and long-term development. The approach to career guidance has also been transformed from emphasis on education to a broader vision of serving humanity and society.

In particular, the focus of career guidance lies in: (1) implementing the “Four Equal Highlights,” which refers to ideological education and career guidance; school guidance, and student independence; the classroom education and ability cultivation; and the entire process of education and the period before graduation; (2) paying attention to the “Two Markets”: the student recruitment market and the job market. Due attention is paid to the cause-effect and interactive relationships between these two markets. The employment of graduates is duly considered at the time of recruitment. The trends of the job market are carefully studied so as to forecast the industrial demand for human resources, restructure specializations, and develop students’ characteristics; (3) setting up multiple goals of development from the macro-viewpoint of education in order to meet the various demands of the job market. Students are expected to master different vocational skills and be familiar with more than one specialization in order to meet the different needs of the job market and to adapt better to long-term requests of industrial development.

To promote employment for graduates from vocational schools, the following measures have been taken:

Establishing the graduates’ bulletin board system (BBS). This system conducts online surveys of graduates’ employment of all the vocational schools in Shanghai and publishes statistics. Multi-functional in nature, this system provides information, appraisal, and services to both graduates and prospective students. It influences the employment and career guidance of vocational schools and helps prospective students with their choice of schools. The effectiveness of the system has been further enhanced with the establishment of supplementary systems, such as employment analysis, professional appraisal, and employment stability.
Developing employment agencies. Special talents exchange and consultation companies have been set up to handle graduates from secondary vocational schools. These companies are to provide job market forecast and analysis; organize career guidance and service training for employment personnel in the vocational schools; establish the management information system on employers; organize survey, investigation, external exchanges of information on supply and demand of talents; provide multi-channel communication of information on graduates and employment; carry out personalized consultation and guidance for graduates; and offer feedback on the actual employment of graduates from secondary vocational schools as the basis for macro-management and decisionmaking.
Setting up career guidance committees. All vocational schools have established career guidance committees with representatives from different professions and enterprises. This has drawn career guidance closer to the enterprises’ demands and bridged the gap between students and employers. Some schools act upon enterprises’ requests in talent training, establish a direct link between graduates and job posts, and thus define clearly the tasks of schools, students, and teachers; some schools locate their training centers right in enterprises, combining graduates’ employment with their practice training programs

After several years of work, remarkable results have been obtained. The first result is that the employment rate of graduates from secondary-vocational schools has been continuously improving over the past few years due to robust demand from the market. For instance, in 2003, the employment rate of graduates from secondary vocational schools in Shanghai was 96.32%; in 2004, the rate reached 98.34%, up 2%; and in 2005, the rate stood at 98.31%.

8. Building Open Training Centers

Training centers are built to provide students of vocational schools with better facilities to master professional skills. These centers also provide the venue for enterprises to conduct training sessions to improve the professional skills of their employees. A number of open training centers for vocational education have been completed since 2004.

With the expansion of area, addition of facilities, and upgraded training courses, these centers are now well equipped with modern facilities, being multi-functional and open to the public. Besides the students’ training programs, the centers also conduct professional qualification assessment and offer various training programs for the public on the basis of the quality standards formulated by the MEC of Shanghai.

At the threshold of this century, there were eight training centers in Shanghai, namely, Training Center of Agriculture, Training Center of Urban Planning & Management, Training Center of Automobile Projects, Training Center of Electromechanical Technology, Training Center of Tourism, Training Center of Digital Control, Training Center of Modern Health Care, and Training Center of Applied Fine Arts. Another round of building training centers began in 2004, with 34 proposed in the first batch. By the first half of 2006, about one-third of the projects had been completed. The approval procedure for the second batch is almost completed, with another 15 new open training centers on the list.

The building of open training centers is financed through multiple channels, including government support, self-provision of schools, and corporate sponsorship. There are mainly four channels of investment: (1) a special fund set up by the MEC of Shanghai and Shanghai Finance Bureau using the educational surcharge each year; (2) a matching grant from the authorities at 1:1 each year; (3) considerable amounts of business and enterprise donations and investment in equipment; and (4) self-provision of schools. For instance, the Training Center of Urban Planning and Management secured financial support from over 50 large corporations and transnational group companies in Japan, Switzerland, America, Germany, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Jiangsu.

These open training centers are built in close connection with the objective of industrial development in Shanghai with the aim of training urgently needed talents. The first batch of construction items covered 20 specializations under seven categories: (1) Processing and Manufacturing (like Digital Control Technology and Application, Mold Design and Manufacture, Mechanical and Electrical Technology Application, Refrigeration Equipment Operation and Maintenance, Chemical Technology, Civil and Material Engineering, and Microelectronics); (2) Transportation category (including Railroad Transportation, Automobile Utilization and Maintenance, Civil Air Transportation and Services); (3) Information Technology (such as Communication Technology, Computer Science and Application); (4) Medicine and Hygiene (including Health Care, Medical Examination, Biological Technology); (5) Modern Service Industries (including Finance and Insurance, Logistics, Modern Business and Trade, Hairdressing and Cosmetology); (6) Urban Agriculture and Forestry; and (7) Performing Arts.

The training centers are distributed according to the layout of industries to promote local economic development. Due consideration was given at the same time to the uniqueness of each district and county, as well as the public demand for training. For instance, the Training Centers for International Commerce and Trading are located in the vocational schools in Pudong, Hongkou, and Changning districts. The two Training Centers for Urban Agriculture and Forestry are sited in Chongming and Songjiang districts where agriculture is well developed, while the Training Center for Chemical Technology is located in Jinshan Petrochemical Industrial District.

9. Curriculum Development and Reform in Secondary Vocational Education

Curriculum development and reform in secondary vocational education were implemented in the second half of 2004. This program is employment-oriented in order to reflect the needs of the market. It aims to make breakthroughs in curriculum reform in light of socio-economic advancement and the actual employment requirements and to link professional qualification certificates closely with diplomas. It also prioritizes students’ professional ethics and comprehensive capability. The program seeks to achieve the following:

(1) To optimize moral education and basic courses in six subjects and set up the criteria for these subjects, including Chinese.

(2) To enhance professional teaching by developing teaching criteria for 50 majors, such as Operation and Maintenance of Automobiles and combining the diploma and professional qualification certificate with necessary verification, training, and examination.

(3) To strengthen the integration of info-tech and curriculum by developing 20 online courses so as to share quality educational resources.

(4) To build ten experimental and model schools under the Curriculum Reform Program of Secondary Vocational Education.

(5) To implement the strategy of “one syllabus but different textbooks,” that is, different textbooks and supplementary teaching materials can be written under the same syllabus.

(6) To set up various educational platforms for the transformation of teachers’ educational concepts and the enhancement of the teaching quality and students’ practical skills, such as the triennial textbook exhibitions, the quadrennial evaluation of teaching methodologies, and the biennial vocational skill contests.

The implementation of the reform program has borne good fruit. Various research projects involving application topics were carried out. Twenty-four research topics were identified and 48 research teams were formed to complete the research tasks. Development of the course Career Planning was completed. It has been used by over 8,000 students on a trial basis since September 2005. The syllabus for the course of Basic Information Technology was formulated, published, and adopted by some schools in Shanghai, with a student population of about 40,000. The syllabuses of Chinese, Mathematics, and English were completed and approved. The leading organizations and project managers have been selected through public bidding for the first 12 specializations listed for new syllabuses. These specializations were Digital Control Technique and Application, Application of Mechanical and Electrical Technology, Application and Maintenance of Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Equipment, Power System Operation and Control, Automobile Servicing and Maintenance, Computer and Application, Medical Care, Hotel Service Management, Finance, International Business, Exhibition and Rail Transportation.

10. Typical Features of Higher Vocational Education in Shanghai

Higher vocational education is an important part of the higher education in Shanghai as it unearths talents with professional skills fully applicable in the front line of production, construction, management, and other services. Higher vocational education adopts a three-year system and recruits students mainly from graduates of senior high schools and secondary vocational schools. Through classroom learning, fieldwork, and off-campus training, graduates are equipped with the necessary knowledge of their specializations, practical skills, as well as professional commitment. Higher vocational education in Shanghai has indeed made remarkable achievements within a short period of time, given that it was initiated in 1985.

There are three types of higher vocational institutions in Shanghai: independent colleges of higher vocational education with specializations ranging from Transportation, Agriculture and Forestry, Information Technology, Electromechanical Engineering, Business and Finance, to Arts and Crafts; secondary colleges in regular universities; and independent higher vocational institutions for adults. Private higher vocational education has been developing rapidly owing to their new mechanisms. So far, 15 private higher vocational colleges have started enrolling students.

At present, institutions of higher vocational education in Shanghai recruit over 60,000 students each year, with more than 50,000 from Shanghai, accounting for 55% of the total. The total student population reaches 170,000. Higher vocational colleges have played a major part in popularizing higher education in Shanghai. For the past few years, most of the expanded enrolment has been carried out by higher vocational colleges. From 2002 to 2005, the employment rate of graduates from higher vocational colleges surpassed 90%, leading all other regions of China. There are now 159 specializations in Shanghai’s colleges of higher vocational education spread over 944 locations.

Besides regular education, higher vocational education has been creating employment or re-employment possibilities. About 300,000 people each year attend skill evaluation and on-site training sessions conducted in and by these schools.

Shanghai’s higher vocational education has made significant progress over the past few years. Its value has been generally recognized in society, especially by corporations. It has also demonstrated strong momentum for future development through its persistent efforts to push forward the educational reform and improve the quality of teaching. Lastly, it is also committed to serving the whole nation as an educational hub. Shanghai is designated by the central government as the southern base of national training programs designed for teachers of higher vocational colleges. The Higher Vocational Educational Network of China is located in Shanghai Second Polytechnic University. The office of Principals’ Association of Higher Vocational Institutions is also in Shanghai.

11. A Channel between Secondary and Higher Vocational Education

In the past, students graduating from secondary vocational schools, technical schools, or vocational senior high schools could hardly find a way to further their education and obtain a higher paper qualification. The emergence of higher vocational education has presented an opportunity for them to continue their studies and prepare themselves more adequately for future employment.

One way in which secondary vocational school students enter higher vocational schools is the examination the municipal government conducts every May, prior to the National University Entrance Examination (NUEE) for senior high school graduates. This special examination has taken full account of the curriculum for vocational education that stresses the training of vocational skills. It places graduates from secondary vocational schools on a level playing field to compete against each other rather than against senior high school graduates, as it was before. It represents another major innovation of China’s educational system.

In addition, secondary vocational school students can also enter higher vocational schools via recommendation. Every March, higher vocational schools in Shanghai receive recommendations for graduates from secondary-vocational schools under the supervision of the MEC of Shanghai and Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau. Only those graduating students who satisfy one of the following conditions can be recommended: (1) they must be recognized as excellent students; (2) they must have been commended or won any award issued by educational authorities; (3) they must be prize winners in any national or municipal vocational skills contests for secondary vocational students; (4) they must have mastered the skills of a certain profession. After verification, qualified students will be enrolled by higher vocational schools without further examinations.

The construction of this channel between secondary and higher vocational education has brought about tremendous educational and social benefits. At present, about 16,000 graduates from secondary vocational schools in Shanghai are enrolled by higher vocational colleges each year.

12. Vocational Qualification Certificate System

The MEC of Shanghai and Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau implements the vocational qualification certificate system alongside the diploma system among tertiary students, especially those of higher vocational colleges with a view to nurturing talents equipped with theoretical knowledge, technical skills, and the ability to tackle problems on the spot. The dual-qualification system encourages students to become top-level all-rounders at the production front.

As a completely new system of evaluating the candidate’s comprehensive vocational capability, this certificate system emphasizes technical, managerial, and comprehensive application ability. Students who have passed the predetermined technical tests will be issued the vocational qualification certificate with the seal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MOLSS). This pioneering effort has been highly commended by the MOE and MOLSS.

At present, 25 specializations in higher vocational colleges have been included in the vocational qualification certificate system. The testing standards for another 20 are being formulated and will be put in place soon. The first batch of certificate holders got their employment contracts with large corporations the very day they were issued the certificates. The implementation of the system has accelerated the reform of the traditional way of talent training and given rise to a number of good new textbooks. A win-win situation is created as higher vocational colleges have cut out a niche market for certification and training, while the employers are getting new hands with enhanced quality and capability.

Shanghai Education