Making it all work in the real world

Not only the Germans

Germany is not the only country with an eye on China's vocational training. Beijing and Berlin established a vocational education cooperation alliance in June last year when Premier Wen Jiabao visited Germany, and less than a month later, China and Britain signed a memorandum of understanding on the same basis.

British manufacturers have been quick to move in, with Jaguar Land Rover launching an apprentice training center in Guangzhou, in South China's Guangdong province, on Oct 31. Located in the Guangdong Jidian Polytechnic, the center has recruited its first batch of 40 apprentices.

Jaguar Land Rover also provides training to 5,000 dealership staff every year at its training academies in Beijing and Shanghai.

Beijing Hyundai, a joint venture established in 2002 by the South Korean automaker, is also now in partnership with Chongqing Lixin Vocational Education Center to train workers in the required skills.

Tan Sheng, a teacher in automobile repairs at this center, says Germany's world-leading global supplier of technology and services, Bosch, and Japanese automaker Toyota have also set up classes there.

"More and more such programs have been set up in China in recent years," Tan says.

Long way to go

The increasing prevalence of such projects highlights the growing importance China attaches to vocational education, but experts say there is still a long way to go before they can meet the demand from foreign companies.

These projects are just provisional measures taken by companies because there are no better options, says Feng Xiao, director of Tongji University's Institute of Vocational Instructors in Shanghai.

"The problem is how to address the loss of trained talent," he says, referring to the exodus of many skilled workers to other companies.

In Festo's case, apprentices have signed a contract to work at the company for at least three years after graduation.

Buschfeld, of the AHK in Shanghai, points out the limits foreign firms face when signing contracts with their apprentices. She says there is "no status of apprenticeship" in China's labor laws, so the contracts are not strictly binding.

She says this is a major challenge for her organization when promoting dual education in China.

Another drawback, Buschfeld says, is the perceived quality of the country's vocational training system. Normally, the better performers in the annual national college entrance exam go to universities, while those with lower grades turn to vocational colleges.

Buschfeld also sees the low respect paid to blue-collar work as a hurdle to promoting vocational education in China. In Germany, she says, many company bosses started off as apprentices.

However, she remains optimistic about promoting German-style vocational education in China, because "Chinese leaders are so open-minded" now and the "mind of the people has changed a lot".

Festo apprentice Wu is also optimistic about his future, especially as his first job is already secured.

"No matter what position I finally get here after I graduate, I'll be diligent and try my best to win promotion. Going to Germany? That will always be my target."

Cecily Liu contributed to this story.

Contact the writer at zhanghaizhou@chinadaily.com.cn