Upskilling the Chinese Workforce?: An Institutional Dilemma in China's Vocational Education System

This book examines the Chinese vocational education system--an arena of growing significance in China's economic transformation. Over the past few decades, the central government has moved to decentralize a traditionally school-based skill development system, embracing a more market-oriented model that incorporates substantial employer involvement. This shift has produced a highly decentralized system centered on targeted training partnerships between schools and firms. These collaborations, further institutionalized by a series of reforms associated with the Made in China 2025 initiative, have helped alleviate skilled labor shortages and sustain the competitiveness of China's industrial sector globally. Yet, this book argues that neither a centralized, school-led model nor a decentralized, employer-driven approach has established the ideal institutional foundations necessary for sustainable workforce upskilling. This provocative study explores the future of skills development in China and identifies critical reforms needed to build a labor force capable of sustaining the country's economic trajectory in the decades ahead.