Measures focus on rural issues and providing disaster aid

Vocational schools continue to nurture nation's key workers

In the past five years, vocational education institutions have nurtured more than 70 percent of the nation's newly employed front-line workers in modern manufacturing, and strategic and emerging industries in addition to modern services.

The country has 11,500 vocational schools, and they are teaching 28.57 million students the skills required for employment, Chen Ziji, an official in charge of vocational education and adult education at the Ministry of Education, told a news conference on Dec 8.

More than 70 percent of students at vocational colleges and schools come from the rural areas, Chen said.

China is working with over 70 countries and international organizations, and more than 400 of its higher vocational schools have cooperated with their counterparts overseas to improve vocational education, Chen added.

Around 10 million technical and skilled personnel are trained every year by vocational colleges and schools, which cover most of the sectors that serve China's economy and offer more than 1,200 majors, the ministry said.