Chinese Vocational Education and Training Reforms

According to Antoine Barnaart, ACCVETP Australian Team Leader, there are good opportunities for Australian VET organisations in China. However, whilst opportunities exist, Australian TAFE Institutes should approach any potential partnerships with a long term view and the understanding that there are many challenges in delivering quality programs across geographical and cultural boundaries.

An Australian funded project is assisting China to reform local Vocational Education and Training arrangements to meet industry training requirements and contribute to China’s economic development. The project involves 30 secondary VET colleges and a range of other institutions including Chongqing Normal University, the Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences and the Chongqing Research Institute. The project is piloting reform in VET across five industries in Chongqing and will develop a VET model that can be replicated on a national basis in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Australian Chinese (Chongqing) Vocational Education and Training Project (ACCVETP) is a five year project funded by AusAid and has involved TAFE institutes across Australia, including Illawarra Institute.

As you will see in this article, the challenges faced by ACCVETP and partner organisations are similar to those experienced by RTOs in Australia during the introduction of national Training Packages. Given the numbers of students and the speed of economic reform, these challenges are often far greater for our Chinese counterparts. The similarity of these experiences provides a unique opportunity for TAFE providers to form meaningful partnerships with Chinese VET organisations. This article in part, outlines areas of opportunities where fruitful partnerships can be formed.

The Municipality of Chongqing was established over 10 years ago as the fourth and largest municipality of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). It was established through the National Government's Western Development Strategy on infrastructure development and investment, which aims to reduce the growing economic disparity between east and west China. The municipal government reports directly to the PRC's central government. It is a flourishing municipality with a population of 31 million and a 2005 annual growth rate in GDP of almost 12 per cent. The National Government's vision is to transform Chongqing into the logistical, industrial and financial hub for the western region by 2015.

Chongqing is one of China’s old industrial bases, with main industries including; machine building, automobile and motorcycle manufacture, metallurgy, chemicals, tourism and iron and steel production. Another four sectors, namely electronic information, foodstuff, building material and daily-use chemical manufacture, have grown strongly in recent years.

Chongqing municipality is the site of the enormous Three Gorges Dam Project. The Three Gorges Dam Project requires the resettlement of 1.13 million people affected by the flooding of the dam. Most of these people are rural workers and farmers who have minimal skills. Overlaying this resettlement effort, the municipality has experienced an urbanisation rate of 52% during 2005.

These dramatic economic and population shifts create considerable demands on the developing VET system to keep up with community and economic pressures. Strong economic growth brings many labour market challenges such as the increased need for skilled workers, the need to identify skill gaps as industries modernise, and the challenge of retraining and reskilling displaced workers.

In rural areas, life for those resettled from flooded farmland is not always easy due to poor soil quality in their new locations. People working in their customary roles as farmers need to develop modern farming techniques and be aware of advances in agricultural science to get the most out of poorer soil conditions. Whilst new opportunities will become available for resettled rural workers, the government faces huge challenges to coordinate and resource this resettlement training.

The private economy's share of Chongqing's GDP has grown from 25% five years ago to 48% today, with a similar decline in the State Owned Enterprise (SOE) contribution. The acceleration of new businesses and business structures necessitates new ways of working within industry and the emerging VET sector. Displaced workers come from many backgrounds covering rural workers with minimal skills to workers whose factories and workplaces have been relocated due to the Three Gorges development. Many of these displaced people are from minority groups who have their own languages and face varying levels of disadvantage.

The complexities the ACCVETP are facing are not just related to the demands of a low skill high growth environment. Other challenges include the pedagogical tradition that the fledgling VET system has previously operated within. Teaching has tended to be teacher focused rather than student focused with an emphasis on the collective rather than the individual. Consequently, the reform of teacher education has been an important initiative which has involved the development and trialling of teacher competency standards and a quality framework.

ACCVETP is involved in a three year demonstration phase incorporating the piloting of competency based curriculum and demand driven VET in five pilot schools across six industry sectors; automotive, information technology, ebusiness, hospitality and tourism and building construction. Five Industry Coordination Committees were established, operating in a similar capacity to Australian Industry Skills Councils, thereby providing the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (CQMEC) with the means to improve industry participation in VET.

ACCVETP has advised schools on strategies to develop closer industry relationships resulting in some companies making donations of equipment to schools. They have also provided work placements for teachers and students to upgrade their practical skills in industry and they have given advice on new equipment and technology. Industry experts conduct seminars and workshops and an increasing number of industry trainers are employed in the schools. Some companies have signed agreements with ACCVETP Pilot Schools to formalise the relationship.

The second phase of ACCVETP focuses on replication and extending the project outcomes with the five original pilot schools to 25 new partner schools. Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences (for teacher education) with each pilot school, partners with five new schools to replicate VET reforms. The new partner schools will receive training covering the VET teacher competency standards and quality framework. Complimenting this is the growth and consolidation of the Industry Coordination Councils to enhanced formal relationships with industry. Linked to this are strategies to improve the collection and analysis of VET performance data to strengthen the basis from which the Ministry of Education can implement national policy improvement and innovation of VET in China.

An important keystone for the ongoing success of the project is to establish and strengthen international VET linkages between China and Australia. A Sino Australia VET network has been established linking Chongqing Schools to Australian RTOs and two pilot schools are being developed as Sino Australia Cooperative Model TAFE Colleges.

Another Australian VET initiative, sponsored by DEST, has been the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation signed by TAFE Directors Australia (TDA) and the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE). The MOU covers a pilot shadowing/mentoring project, the objective of which is to enhance cooperation and build partnerships between Australia and China in the vocational education and training sector.

The mentoring component has a specific objective of strengthening the management expertise of senior administrators of vocational education and training institutions in China, by giving them the opportunity of shadowing counterparts in Australian institutions and observing Australian practice. This is intended to give them an understanding of different management approaches and systems in Australian TAFE Institutes, including quality assurance requirements and their implementation.

According to Antoine Barnaart, ACCVETP Australian Team Leader, there are good opportunities for Australian VET organisations in China. ‘I believe that Australian VET providers are yet to take full advantage of the development opportunities arising out of partnerships with Chinese institutions. An increased number of Australian VET teachers and VET students working and studying in China, learning the language, culture and industry practices, can benefit both countries. Australian providers should take advantage of these opportunities to build capacity in their own and partner organisations.’

The demands of China’s growing economy might be better served by strategic partnerships with key Australian providers with expertise in industry sectors of priority to the Chinese government. Areas of potential strategic intervention might include Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) and chemical handling, areas crucial to China’s development such as competitive manufacturing, and fields where Australian RTOs have longstanding skills. Industry specific programs are an opportunity that should be further explored between the two countries. Expertise in VET research is another area that Australian VET organisations can expand as an opportunity.

Whilst ACCVETP is in place, there is a unique opportunity for Australian TAFEs to establish working relationships with Chinese schools, colleges and universities. However, whilst opportunities exist, Australian TAFEs should approach any potential partnerships with a long term view and the understanding that there are many challenges in delivering quality programs across geographical and cultural boundaries.