Vice Premier wants speedier vocational education development

Development of modern vocational education needs to be speeded up in order to cultivate more tech-savvy talent to help with the country's economic transformation, Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong has urged.

Liu made the call on Friday at the closing ceremony of a national vocational skills contest in north China's Tianjin Municipality.

The contest, the sixth of its kind, attracted more than 4 million Chinese vocational school pupils and 500 foreign students from over 50 countries.

Developing vocational education is a good way to expand employment and develop the real economy, Liu said, adding that majors in schools should be set up in accordance with the needs of the market, modern industry and public services.

Official statistics showed that a record-high 6.99 million graduates are struggling to find a job in China.

Vocational graduates are often seen to be inferior to university graduates when they are applying for jobs as they have obtained lower degrees.

In order to promote its sound development, the idea of ignoring vocational education should be redressed, while more social funds should be invested, according to Liu.

China currently has a total of 31 million students who are attending vocational schools, with nearly 10 million graduates each year.