China needs focus on vocational education - Zhang Juwei

Zhang Juwei

A fast shrinking labor force, which mostly gets a college degree, creates a dramatic shortage of skill labor workers, China used to have plentiful in the past, says  Zhang Juwei, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences to Caixin.

Caixin:

The one-child policy, which led to a drop in birthrates, has led to a decline in the number of young people entering the workforce. But the pool of semi-skilled blue-collar workers, which was once plentiful, is drying up as more young people opt for a college education and prefer to work in the service sectors.


Nearly half the new entrants in the Chinese job market have a college degree, but there is a mismatch between their skills and what the market needs, said Zhang Juwei, director of the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, at the same seminar on Saturday.
Zhang said China's education system needs to offer better vocational training and teach practical skills to youth.

More in Caixin. Zhang Juwei is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers´request form. 

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