It is abundantly clear that vocational education plays a paramount role in transforming the lives of millions of students all over the world across a broad range of fields of study. Just to mention a few: School of International Education, School of continuing Education, School of Basic Education, School of Information Engineering, School of Urban Safety Engineering, School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, and other related fields.
As things stand at present, by working at all hours of the day and night, students have been accomplishing the fruits of accomplishment more than ever before.
As China’s position in Ethiopia’s vocational training is very unique and special, it has been playing a paramount role in improving the education system of various TVET by offering various trainings. This being the case, most colleges have been moving in the right direction by turning the dreams of most parents, students into reality.
Ethiopia and China have been strengthening their strategic partnership through expanded cultural, educational and vocational collaborations, officials said during the 2025 Language Day Celebration which was in the recent past held in Addis Ababa.
It is recalled that speaking at the event, FDRE Technical and Vocational Training Institute (TVTI) Director General Biruk Kedir (PhD) emphasized that cultural diplomacy and skills development will play a key role in advancing bilateral relations.
With more Ethiopians learning Chinese and acquiring technical skills through platforms like the Confucius Institutes and Luban Workshop, we are not only building professional capacity but also deepening people-to-people ties, he said.
He lauded the contributions of these institutions in enhancing Ethiopia’s education and industrial sectors. He noted that the growing number of Ethiopians engaging in Chinese language learning and vocational training has laid a strong foundation for broader cooperation in development.
Chinese Embassy Cultural Counselor Zhang Yawei also underscored the significance of language and culture in diplomacy. She highlighted Chinese as one of humanity’s most ancient and rich languages reflecting the depth of a 5,000 year-old civilization.
In Ethiopia the Confucius Institutes and Luban Workshop have taken root with strong local support producing a new generation of professionals who are not only fluent in Chinese but equipped with practical skills,” Zhang said. These programs are contributing meaningfully to Ethiopia’s socio-economic progress and fostering mutual understanding.”
The event marked a reaffirmation of the commitment by both countries to invest in language and vocational training as powerful tools for sustainable training as powerful tools for sustainable development and diplomatic engagement.
Recently I had the privilege of visiting Beijing Polytechnic College located in Beijing. To the surprise of everyone, the whole setup is out of this world. The entire college is fully equipped modern practical teaching materials.
If Ethiopia as usual continues to implement the Chinese experience in vocational education, the number of unemployed would be diminished.
According to sources vocational education is an education type as important as general education. The goal of vocational education colleges is to cultivate high-quality technical and skilled talents. Centering on a certain profession, students should possess the professional ethics, scientific culture and professional knowledge, technical skills and other comprehensive qualities and action capabilities required for engaging in or achieving career development.
The goal of vocational education college is to cultivate high-quality technical and skilled talents. Centering on a certain profession, students possess the professional ethics, scientific culture and professional knowledge, technical skills and other comprehensive qualities and action capabilities required for engaging in or achieving career development.
There are two categories of vocational college education in China: The first is vocational college education, and the second is vocational training.
Classification of vocational colleagues: In China, vocational college education can be divided into secondary and higher. Colleges can be divided into two categories, i.e. vocational colleges and technical colleges, according to different competent departments.
Vocational education colleges under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education are usually referred to as vocational colleges, while vocational education colleges under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security are usually referred to as technical colleges.
Currently, there were 1,562 higher vocational colleges in China including 60 vocational undergraduate colleges. There were over 16 million students enrolled accounting for approximately 45% of the total number of college students in China.
Higher vocational education has occupied half of higher education and become the backbone of vocational education supporting China to be the only country in the world with all industrial categories and playing an irreplaceable role in promoting economic and social development and making China a country rich in human resources.
The important positioning of vocational education and general education as “ both education, different types and equally important ” was clarified for the first time in law, strengthening the country’s responsibly for vocational education and marking a new stage of high quality development and the construction of a skill-oriented society for vocational education in China.
As of the end of 2023, there were a total of 136 vocational colleges ( 25 higher vocational colleges) in Beijing, offering over 300 majors possessing more than 1,000 major distribution points, cultivating millions of outstanding graduates and training over one million workers annually. For 10 consecutive years, the employment rate of graduates from higher vocational colleges has exceeded 95% and the satisfaction rate of enterprises has reached over 97%.
Beijing is the second most economically powerful city in China, but has the largest number of top enterprises far ahead of other cities. Most of China’s Fortune Global 500 enterprises are located in Beijing. The clustering of top enterprises not only provides Beijing with a massive tax contribution but also offers plenty of high-quality jobs for its job market.
Beijing Polytechnic College (BPC) is a general higher vocational college sponsored by the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality. BPC was formerly known as Beijing Coal Industry School, which was founded in 1956 under the Ministry of Coal Industry.
It has offered higher vocational education courses since 1994 and was restructured into a vocational technical college in 1999. It is one of the first batch of independent higher vocational colleges in China, a national model higher vocational college and a college included in the National Double High-level plan ( i.e.,. National Plan for the Construction of High-Level Higher Vocational Schools and Specialties with Chinese Characteristics).
Focusing on the strategies position of the capital, BPC plays an active role in serving the major development strategies of China and Beijing. It is committed to the path leading to “’high-end, sophisticated, informationalized and international” development by carrying out professional education in the fields of Beijing’s urban construction, operation, management and services.
BPC brings every effort to bear to deepen the integration of industry and education, the combination of education and urban development, as well as the fusion of education and training, so as to cultivate high-quality, international, and versatile technical and skilled talents. It aims to enhance contribution to society and the international influence of vocational education, striving to build the school into a world-class higher vocational college with distinct characteristics.
BPC currently has 9 schools (departments) and a School of International Education, with 5 major groups encompassing 34 specific majors in 8 categories. It has developed a major system oriented towards the fields of urban construction, operation, management, and service, with engineering majors as the main focus and featuring coordinated development of engineering, management, humanities, and law.
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 25 MAY 2025
