this year's national college entrance examination, or gaokao, has come to an end in most of china. after taking a few days off, the students who took the test face another life changing event – applying for college. in recent years, china has beefed up efforts to promote its vocational education system. the aim is to skill up more and more workers across a whole range of sectors. cgtn's huang yue visits one vocational school in beijing, and talks to the students and staff there.
this is not a commercial cafe, and these young people are not professional baristas, or at least not yet.
they are students at beijing college of social administration, a vocational school, and making coffee is one of the courses the school provides to all students here.
sophomore cao yizhao says he was frustrated at first when he failed to get a high score on the gaokao, and had to choose a vocational school for further study.
but two years later, he says the learning experience has changed him a lot.
cao yizhao student, beijing college of social administration "i used to envy some of my high school classmates because they could go to universities. they will have higher degrees and more job opportunities. but now, i don't think like that. i'm learning the skills and techniques that i'll use directly in my future job."
cao is more confident about his future these days because he's just acquired the sca certificate – a professional recognition for baristas around the world.
and one of his predecessors, 26-year-old yu xiaona, proves that vocational school graduates can have a bright future as well.
yu started to pursue her career as a professional barista after she graduated from this college in 2015. she used to work at a well-known multinational coffee house chain, and opened her own cafe in 2017.
yu xiaona barista "what really matters is that you need to find a major you are interested in, you need to find something you really love to do, and then you can continue to pursue that at the vocational school. you will also find a lot of opportunities in your future career."
in china, people tend to treat vocational education as being inferior to academic learning. so attending vocational school is often seen as a choice born out of desperation for many families in the country.
but skilled workers are much sought after in different sectors across the country, from manufacturing to culinary services.
li xiuqin is from the beijing college of social administration, and says it could take a long time to change people's perception about vocational education.
but as a teacher at a vocational school, she says she's looking forward to more support from the country.
li xiuqin teacher, beijing college of social administration "for students, it's important to master a real skill that helps them keep a foothold in the society. it doesn't matter where they acquire that skill from – general universities or vocational schools. i hope the government can invest more in vocational education to support our students."
statistics show china is currently home to nearly 31 million students acquiring skills in vocational education institutions.
in recent years, the country's education authorities have been working to promote the fair treatment of students receiving vocational education, ensuring they enjoy opportunities equal to those available to students from regular schools in terms of enrolment, employment and job promotions.
on monday, china's top legislature began discussing a draft revision to the law on vocational education, in a bid to solve the problems in the field and train more high-caliber technical professionals.
huang yue beijing "a recent report from china's national institute of education sciences says vocational school graduates are in high demand across the country. so if making coffee is one of the main things you're planning to learn at college, maybe you'd like to apply for this major? huang yue, cgtn, beijing."
