国内英语新闻:China strengthens vocational education to boost employment

NANJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) - Three months after high school, 18-year-old Wang Mingyuan landed a part-time job in KTK Group, one of China's leading railway components manufacturers, in east China's Jiangsu Province.

Unlike other migrant workers, Wang also started a three-year vocational school education at the same time, thanks to the work-study program launched this year by the Jiangsu provincial government.

The program offers employment opportunities in high-technology and community-service fields to vocational school students. Currently, Wang works three days of each week in the company and spends another two days as a student, learning computer science and engineering.

"I felt very depressed about the future when I knew I failed the college entrance exam. But after attending the work-study program, I think if I work hard, I may fare as well as those with college educations," Wang said.

"Through the program, I could gain career-related, on-the-job work experience, which is valuable for my job hunting and career development," he continued.

For a long time, college has been seen as a necessary, even if not sufficient, ticket to the middle class by the Chinese people. However, the steadily increasing number of students attending Chinese colleges since the late 1990s caused a growing number of graduates to fail in finding a job.

In contrast, skilled workers are badly needed in China as skilled job vacancies hit 4 million across the country by the end of 2009.

"As the country's industrial restructuring accelerates, the demand for skilled workers will become increasingly buoyant," said Huo Jianguo, director of the Trade Research Institute affiliated with the Ministry of Commerce.

On the one hand, the employment market ran short of skilled workers. On the other hand, China's employment situation remained grave as millions of people were laid off, Huo said.