The province of Shandong in East China has been ramping up efforts to boost the high-quality development of vocational education to provide talents for regional industrial upgrading, said Shandong authorities.

Workers carry out tasks relating to construction of a refinery project at a petrochemical industry base in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. [Photo by Wang Jianmin/For China Daily]

The polytechnics or vocational schools in Shandong produce nearly 800,000 skilled workers and technicians every year. More than 70 percent of the workers in Shandong's top emerging industries, such as rural revitalization, modern manufacturing and marine economy, come from vocational schools, according to official data.

"Vocational schools should provide high-quality talents with skills and knowledge that meet the demands of the production frontline," said a local official.

Shandong has launched measures to reform the vocational education system to better serve regional industrial transformation and upgrading. These measures include promoting cooperation between vocational schools and enterprises so that what is being taught to students is in line with industry requirements.

The province has launched the first batch of 142 provincial-level technical training and education enterprises, which offer large intelligent practice and training bases. The education content in these bases is determined by industry players.

"With the rapid development of enterprises, the demand for skilled workers is getting higher and higher. The premise of improving the quality of vocational education is that teachers' skills can keep up with the development of enterprises," said Li Xinsheng, president of a technical school in Jinan.

Shandong has also reformed the recruitment system for teachers in vocational colleges so as to attract more skillful craftsmen and masters.