Shanghai takes advantage of WorldSkills success to reframe vocational education

Fresh from securing five gold and two silver medals at the 48th WorldSkills Competition last month, Shanghai is pushing to reform its vocational education system and shed its long-held "hierarchical" reputation, as high-achieving students increasingly choose integrated vocational pathways.

"Vocational education is just one of many life options. It is a misconception that it locks people into a low-level track," Yang Zhenfeng, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, said during a news briefing on vocational education reform on Wednesday.

He stressed vocational and general education are different types, not tiers, of learning.

"In the age of artificial intelligence, knowledge alone is far from enough — the core is problem-solving ability," Yang said, adding that schools should not blindly pursue elevation to undergraduate status but align with industrial demand in key sectors such as integrated circuits and biomedicine.

Home to around 270,000 vocational students, Shanghai has built a modern system featuring vertical progression pathways, horizontal academic integration and deep industry-education collaboration. It runs 448 integrated vocational program tracks and 15 industry-education clusters.

The city was the first in China to include vocational experience in junior high school assessments, with about 100,000 middle school students taking part each year.

Five local institutions showcased their industry-aligned practices at the briefing.

Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, which leads a national urban renewal industry-education community, has developed a smart building inspection program, noting that "machines collect data, but risk assessment and judgment still depend on people."

Shanghai Technical Institute of Electronics & Information runs an in-factory training model for the integrated circuit sector, with over 90 percent of graduates retained in key roles. Shanghai Nanhu Vocational & Technical College integrates WorldSkills standards into its curriculum, with 93.1 percent of its faculty being dual-qualified teachers with both teaching credentials and industrial practice experience.

"The competition ends, but its standards live on," the school noted.

Shanghai Industrial Technology School has seen 717 graduate students hired by leading industrial firms over 12 years. Shanghai Pharmaceutical School, backed by Shanghai Pharmaceutical Group's full industry chain, posts a 98 percent vocational qualification pass rate.

Yang called for moving beyond the credential-first mindset.

"From a different perspective, many vocational students are excellent," he said.

"Not everyone needs a WorldSkills medal. Making irreplaceable contributions in one's job defines true talent."

Shanghai will further leverage the spillover effects of WorldSkills, translating competition standards into daily teaching to nurture more high-skilled talent for the city's industries.