A job fair targeting vocational school students is held in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, July 7. [Photo/jsenews.com]
Although loath to admit it, many Chinese students and parents are biased against vocational schools as they think the people lack academic competence.
But in East China's Jiangsu province, this fixed idea is collapsing, with local schools gearing up to enhance their overall strength on one hand, and swarms of technical students making their names in domestic and international competitions.
The Changzhou Technician College (CTC) is a typical example.
With the 20-year-old Song Biao becoming the first Chinese to claim the Albert Vidal Award in the WorldSkills Competition last year, his alma mater, CTC, has also become a top choice for junior school graduates.
Zhao Zhengwen, CTC's vice-president, said the school has finished a new round of student admissions in just two days.
The possibility of becoming a technician and making a living with their technical abilities is the reason why more students and parents are changing their attitudes toward vocational schools.
"Technical workers are also elites," said the father of Li Ronghua, who had just accompanied his son to register for a five-year vehicle maintenance and repair course July 7.
Students consult with a German teacher. [Photo/jsenews.com]
At a job fair held in the provincial capital of Nanjing the same day, over 200 local companies presented some 15,000 job opportunities and delivered generous offers to prospective employees. The average annual salary offered was 100,000 yuan ($14,971), with the highest reaching 180,000 yuan.
Zhu Hongbin, a senior technician at the Electric Power Research Institute affiliated to State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co, said he is the second-best paid person at the institute after the dean.
Starting as an unknown apprentice, the technician devoted himself to learning about gas and power and has already obtained 17 national invention patents and 16 national practical new-type patents.
"Stick to what you are good at," Zhu said.
His idea echoed among other technicians at the fair, with many of them wishing students would study in accordance with their interests.
Song Biao, the international award winner who was also at the fair, said his interest in machinery triggered him to move forward and overcome various obstacles.
If the technicians' interests have inspired them to go ahead, the technicians themselves have also spurred diversified local development, making the training of skilled personnel a more popular topic in Jiangsu.
A total of 131 local vocational schools have cooperated with over 3,000 companies in recent years, joining hands in cultivating some 130,000 professionals in various fields.
