Institutional Landscape and Expansion
In China, there are currently approximately 8,700 TVET institutions, of which the majority – around 7,200 – offer education at upper secondary levels, while approximately 1,500 offer education at tertiary levels, of which about 350 are privately run, and fewer than 100 are universities authorized to grant bachelor’s degrees. Secondary institutions have contracted and consolidated as a result of demographic changes, rural-to-urban migration, and changing social demand. The expansion at the tertiary level is designed to align with national goals to boost the proportion of highly skilled workers. Within this framework, pilot colleges and new program types (four-year bachelor’s in applied fields) are now serving as models for future institutional evolution.
In China, there are currently approximately 8,700 TVET institutions, of which the majority – around 7,200 – offer education at upper secondary levels, while approximately 1,500 offer education at tertiary levels, of which about 350 are privately run, and fewer than 100 are universities authorized to grant bachelor’s degrees. Secondary institutions have contracted and consolidated as a result of demographic changes, rural-to-urban migration, and changing social demand. The expansion at the tertiary level is designed to align with national goals to boost the proportion of highly skilled workers. Within this framework, pilot colleges and new program types (four-year bachelor’s in applied fields) are now serving as models for future institutional evolution.
Over the three years, the rate of graduates’ majors from higher vocational colleges matching their employment positions has increased year by year. The rate reached 72.17% for the 2023 graduates, an increase of 4.75% compared with the 2021 graduates; the average starting salary for initial employment of the 2023 graduates was 4,082.20 yuan, an increase of 11.13% compared with the 2021 graduates.
TVET in China: Historical Development, Status Quo and Challenges
CERE TrendWatch: Volume 2025, Issue 2
CERE TrendWatch is a series publishing concise analytical notes with infographics on key themes in education and skills development across emerging economies. Each issue spotlights major trends and policy insights to inform research and decision-making.
CERE TrendWatch is a series publishing concise analytical notes with infographics on key themes in education and skills development across emerging economies. Each issue spotlights major trends and policy insights to inform research and decision-making.
Authors:
Jun Li, Associate Professor, Institute of Vocational Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Wenyu Cao, Research Assistant, Institute of Vocational Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Jun Li, Associate Professor, Institute of Vocational Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Wenyu Cao, Research Assistant, Institute of Vocational Education, Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Enrollment Trends and System Structure
China’s education system transitions students from a unified basic education to a dual-track model—academic and vocational—at upper secondary level. The division is rigid, and although articulation programs and reforms seek to bridge gaps, the vast majority of students remain within their chosen tracks after initial selection. Nationally, 30–40% of students opt into the vocational track, but provincial variation is high, with some areas reaching 50–60%. Entry to each level requires separate entrance examinations, intensifying the divides and influencing social status perceptions of each track.
China’s education system transitions students from a unified basic education to a dual-track model—academic and vocational—at upper secondary level. The division is rigid, and although articulation programs and reforms seek to bridge gaps, the vast majority of students remain within their chosen tracks after initial selection. Nationally, 30–40% of students opt into the vocational track, but provincial variation is high, with some areas reaching 50–60%. Entry to each level requires separate entrance examinations, intensifying the divides and influencing social status perceptions of each track.
The second issue of CERE TrendWatch focuses on Chinese vocational education and training. It considers its development in the context of comprehensive reforms, the modern challenges it faces, and its connection to the wider educational and economic landscape.
System Governance, Funding, and Partnerships
China’s TVET system is governed in a bifurcated fashion. IVET (school-based), under the Ministry of Education, includes most secondary and tertiary VET. Adult training (technical colleges), managed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, is much less common and often serves niche upskilling or reskilling roles.
TVET is overwhelmingly school-based, funded through public resources, with local governments bearing most costs and the central government supporting major reforms and demonstration programs through additional investments. Private sector engagement has increased in tertiary education (internships, school-enterprise cooperation), but remains underdeveloped at other levels.
Significant investment—especially following China’s WTO accession in 2001—has focused on upgrading infrastructure, teacher quality, and curriculum development, including targeted grants (e.g., the National Demonstrative Secondary Vocational School Construction Program, Basic Capacity Building Program).
Historical Transformations of TVET and Reform Trajectory
China’s TVET system has undergone profound changes since its modern re-establishment in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Initially, TVET provided clear pathways out of agricultural subsistence and into stable urban employment, embodying the “iron rice bowl” era, when jobs in the industrial sector were guaranteed by the state.
Major market reforms and privatization during the mid-1990s disrupted this stability, resulting in wide-scale layoffs and weakening the traditional social contract. This shift in the economic and employment landscape profoundly influenced family and student priorities. With a growing cultural emphasis on academic achievement—and influenced by Confucian values—university degrees became the preferred choice, pushing vocational training into a lower-status role and leading to credential inflation and labor shortages in key technical areas.
China’s TVET system is governed in a bifurcated fashion. IVET (school-based), under the Ministry of Education, includes most secondary and tertiary VET. Adult training (technical colleges), managed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, is much less common and often serves niche upskilling or reskilling roles.
TVET is overwhelmingly school-based, funded through public resources, with local governments bearing most costs and the central government supporting major reforms and demonstration programs through additional investments. Private sector engagement has increased in tertiary education (internships, school-enterprise cooperation), but remains underdeveloped at other levels.
Significant investment—especially following China’s WTO accession in 2001—has focused on upgrading infrastructure, teacher quality, and curriculum development, including targeted grants (e.g., the National Demonstrative Secondary Vocational School Construction Program, Basic Capacity Building Program).
Historical Transformations of TVET and Reform Trajectory
China’s TVET system has undergone profound changes since its modern re-establishment in the wake of the Cultural Revolution. Initially, TVET provided clear pathways out of agricultural subsistence and into stable urban employment, embodying the “iron rice bowl” era, when jobs in the industrial sector were guaranteed by the state.
Major market reforms and privatization during the mid-1990s disrupted this stability, resulting in wide-scale layoffs and weakening the traditional social contract. This shift in the economic and employment landscape profoundly influenced family and student priorities. With a growing cultural emphasis on academic achievement—and influenced by Confucian values—university degrees became the preferred choice, pushing vocational training into a lower-status role and leading to credential inflation and labor shortages in key technical areas.
Recognizing emerging challenges, the Government has since 2001 responded with substantial policy interventions. These include the introduction of tuition-free TVET policies, targeted grants, and major investments in improving teacher quality and educational infrastructure. Inspired by Western models, China also advanced institutional innovations such as modern apprenticeship tracks and closer integration of classroom learning with workplace experience.
Labor market dynamics since China’s WTO accession have amplified the complexity of TVET’s evolution. Between 2001 and 2015, chronic shortages of qualified secondary-level skilled workers became apparent, while university graduates struggled to find suitable positions. After 2005, the employment landscape polarized, offering expanding opportunities for both highly skilled engineers/technicians and low-skilled workers, but reducing demand for middle-skilled roles. Since 2010, the rapid expansion of higher education has further contributed to credential inflation, with an increasing number of college graduates accepting jobs that were traditionally filled by TVET graduates.
The most recent era, beginning around 2012–2013, is characterized by comprehensive reforms to improve transferability between vocational, general, and higher education. New pathways now allow TVET students to progress to university and graduate-level degrees. Widespread adoption of modern apprenticeships, public–private training partnerships, and government-plus-industry subsidies has further promoted practical education and workforce readiness. TVET institutions play an expanding role in career guidance, reskilling laid-off or migrant workers, and upskilling both veterans and rural migrants. Ambitious internationalization efforts have linked China’s TVET institutions to Belt and Road countries, multiplying opportunities to export models and train local workforces abroad.
Labour Market Outcomes of Graduates
The vast majority (67.7%) of new TVET graduates enter the tertiary sector (services, commerce), just under 30% the secondary sector (manufacturing, industry), and fewer than 3% agriculture/primary sector, reflecting China’s ongoing economic restructuring.
According to the China Vocational Education Development Report (2024) released by the Vocational Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education, from 2021 to 2023, the employment rate of TVET graduates in China remained at a relatively high level overall. The employment rate of secondary TVET graduates showed a slight downward trend: it stood at 94.70% in 2021, slightly decreased to 94.44% in 2022, and further dropped to 93.96% in 2023. In contrast, the employment rate of higher TVET graduates presented a steady upward trend, rising from 90.60% in 2021 to 91.88% in 2022, and then increasing to 93.55% in 2023.
Labor market dynamics since China’s WTO accession have amplified the complexity of TVET’s evolution. Between 2001 and 2015, chronic shortages of qualified secondary-level skilled workers became apparent, while university graduates struggled to find suitable positions. After 2005, the employment landscape polarized, offering expanding opportunities for both highly skilled engineers/technicians and low-skilled workers, but reducing demand for middle-skilled roles. Since 2010, the rapid expansion of higher education has further contributed to credential inflation, with an increasing number of college graduates accepting jobs that were traditionally filled by TVET graduates.
The most recent era, beginning around 2012–2013, is characterized by comprehensive reforms to improve transferability between vocational, general, and higher education. New pathways now allow TVET students to progress to university and graduate-level degrees. Widespread adoption of modern apprenticeships, public–private training partnerships, and government-plus-industry subsidies has further promoted practical education and workforce readiness. TVET institutions play an expanding role in career guidance, reskilling laid-off or migrant workers, and upskilling both veterans and rural migrants. Ambitious internationalization efforts have linked China’s TVET institutions to Belt and Road countries, multiplying opportunities to export models and train local workforces abroad.
Labour Market Outcomes of Graduates
The vast majority (67.7%) of new TVET graduates enter the tertiary sector (services, commerce), just under 30% the secondary sector (manufacturing, industry), and fewer than 3% agriculture/primary sector, reflecting China’s ongoing economic restructuring.
According to the China Vocational Education Development Report (2024) released by the Vocational Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education, from 2021 to 2023, the employment rate of TVET graduates in China remained at a relatively high level overall. The employment rate of secondary TVET graduates showed a slight downward trend: it stood at 94.70% in 2021, slightly decreased to 94.44% in 2022, and further dropped to 93.96% in 2023. In contrast, the employment rate of higher TVET graduates presented a steady upward trend, rising from 90.60% in 2021 to 91.88% in 2022, and then increasing to 93.55% in 2023.
Persistent Challenges & Emerging Opportunities
Despite progress and investment, challenges persist:
Nonetheless, the Chinese concept of 危机weiji (“crisis as opportunity”) provides reasons for optimism. Technological change and automation are compelling both private and public employers to invest in bespoke skills training. Some manufacturers have responded by founding their own in-house training institutes. The rise of automation is eliminating many routine tasks while amplifying demand for highly specialized technical skills, opening a niche for high-quality TVET partnerships. As credential inflation erodes the value of university diplomas, the employability and status of graduates from leading vocational colleges in advanced provinces, such as Shanghai and Guangdong, are on the rise.
Conclusion
China’s TVET system is undergoing rapid transformation, balancing the expansion of tertiary-level vocational education with a contraction at the secondary level and ongoing reforms to improve flexibility, quality, and labor market alignment. Despite persistent challenges—including low social status, regional disparities, and the tension between further academic study and direct workforce entry—the policy focus on applied skills, institutional innovation, and internationalization demonstrates resilience and adaptability. As demographic shifts and technological changes accelerate, the system’s continued evolution will be crucial to meeting both national development goals and the demands of a modern workforce.
Despite progress and investment, challenges persist:
- Low social status: TVET is often viewed as a fallback for “less capable” students, dampening both prestige and quality.
- Transfer incentive paradox: Increased academic mobility leads many TVET students to seek continued university-level study rather than workforce entry, diluting immediate impacts on employer skill gaps.
- Regional-central tension: Uniform policies crafted centrally often fail to account for regional economic and industrial diversity, reducing effectiveness.
Nonetheless, the Chinese concept of 危机weiji (“crisis as opportunity”) provides reasons for optimism. Technological change and automation are compelling both private and public employers to invest in bespoke skills training. Some manufacturers have responded by founding their own in-house training institutes. The rise of automation is eliminating many routine tasks while amplifying demand for highly specialized technical skills, opening a niche for high-quality TVET partnerships. As credential inflation erodes the value of university diplomas, the employability and status of graduates from leading vocational colleges in advanced provinces, such as Shanghai and Guangdong, are on the rise.
Conclusion
China’s TVET system is undergoing rapid transformation, balancing the expansion of tertiary-level vocational education with a contraction at the secondary level and ongoing reforms to improve flexibility, quality, and labor market alignment. Despite persistent challenges—including low social status, regional disparities, and the tension between further academic study and direct workforce entry—the policy focus on applied skills, institutional innovation, and internationalization demonstrates resilience and adaptability. As demographic shifts and technological changes accelerate, the system’s continued evolution will be crucial to meeting both national development goals and the demands of a modern workforce.
Whilst most colleges do not offer bachelor's degrees due to their three-year duration, this situation is undergoing a period of change. This is due to the establishment of new colleges that are providing four-year programs, thus enabling a bachelor's degree to be obtained despite the fact that it was originally reserved for four-year undergraduate education at universities.
Secondary vocational education has experienced marked contraction, losing more than 29% of its schools and 24% of its student intake since 2019. Meanwhile, higher vocational education has expanded, with over 16% growth in student numbers and increased institutional capacity. This dual trend highlights a policy shift toward higher-level applied skills but raises concerns over the shrinking pool of secondary-level skilled workers, who are vital for manufacturing and industry. Notwithstanding the political emphasis on vocational education over the past two decades, its social status among families and students remains low.
Secondary vocational education has experienced marked contraction, losing more than 29% of its schools and 24% of its student intake since 2019. Meanwhile, higher vocational education has expanded, with over 16% growth in student numbers and increased institutional capacity. This dual trend highlights a policy shift toward higher-level applied skills but raises concerns over the shrinking pool of secondary-level skilled workers, who are vital for manufacturing and industry. Notwithstanding the political emphasis on vocational education over the past two decades, its social status among families and students remains low.
Please cite this publication as:
Jun Li, Wenyu Cao (2025), ‘TVET in China: Historical Development,
Status Quo and Challenges’.
CERE TrendWatch, Volume 2025, Issue 2, CERE Observatory.
http://cereobservatory.com/trendwatch_tvet_in_china
Jun Li, Wenyu Cao (2025), ‘TVET in China: Historical Development,
Status Quo and Challenges’.
CERE TrendWatch, Volume 2025, Issue 2, CERE Observatory.
http://cereobservatory.com/trendwatch_tvet_in_china
20 October 2025
Source: Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Education in China (2022).
Source: Calculations based on statistics from the Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Education in China released by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China for the years 2019–2023.
Sources: The China Labor Statistical Yearbook (2020–2024), China Vocational Education Development Report (2024) released by the Vocational Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education.
Source: China Vocational Education Development Report (2024) released by the Vocational Education Development Center of the Ministry of Education.