China gives vocational training a hi-tech overhaul to upskill workforce

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 Thursday – 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.