Why are more and more college students going back to vocational schools after graduation?
Why are more and more college students going back to vocational schools after graduation?
Some companies said that compound talents who pay equal attention to theory and skills are in short supply in the market
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Nowadays, many people with bachelor's degrees "reverse" to vocational schools with a more pragmatic and forward-looking mindset, opening up a new career path for themselves by mastering a craft, and experiencing a wonderful life in different tracks.
Before choosing the college technician class of Qingdao Technician College in Shandong Province, Chen Yucong was a little nervous, which included the pressure of facing secular concepts and the uncertainty of the future.
After experiencing the ups and downs of employment, Chen Yucong hoped to improve his workplace competitiveness with the help of "returning to the furnace" and having the dual configuration of "bachelor's degree + skill certificate".
The reporter found that there are many people who "put down their status" like Chen Yucong and "return to the furnace" in vocational colleges with a more pragmatic and forward-looking mindset. By mastering a craft, they have opened up a new career path for themselves and experienced a wonderful life in different tracks.
A pragmatic choice in confusion
In 2023, Chen Yucong was still a student majoring in chemistry at Liaocheng University. As usual, social practice is required in the senior year. Chen Yucong's internship unit is a chemical company in Jimo District, Qingdao City, and his position is injection molding process debugging.
After several months of internship experience, Chen Yucong has gone from being full of expectations to being a little confused about his career. "I learned theoretical knowledge in college, and my advantages in workshop technical work are not obvious." What makes Chen Yucong anxious is that the technical content of injection molding process debugging is not high, and the career prospects are average.
When graduation season comes, Chen Yucong's application process is not smooth. "I don't have a postgraduate degree, nor did I graduate from a 985 or 211 school. I have also tried to apply for technical positions, but compared with students who graduated from technical schools, I lack practical skills." When hesitating and confused, Chen Yucong learned about the enrollment information of the college technician class of Qingdao Technician College. "Two-year school system", "matching employment", "promotion channel for craftsmen", these keywords attracted Chen Yucong, but the voice of opposition from his parents brought him pressure. "They don't understand, and they are afraid of being laughed at by relatives and friends." Despite this, Chen Yucong still firmly chose to go to the college technician class for "re-cultivation". On the day of freshman registration, there were more than 20 students in the class. Except for two students who were directly promoted from the main campus of the Technician College, most of the others were undergraduate graduates who had failed to find a job or had setbacks in their career development. The oldest was 34 years old. Chen Yucong was happy to meet like-minded friends, and was surprised at everyone's acceptance of "re-cultivation". "Times are changing, and everyone's concepts and choices are also advancing with the times." This is Chen Yucong's feeling after communicating with his classmates.
Xu Pibing, a teacher of the mechatronics major at the college, admitted that the popularity of the technician class was indeed beyond expectations. In the 15 years since it was opened, more than 300 people have signed up, including more than 100 with bachelor's degrees. Students who choose the technician class have worked in office clerks, real estate agents, takeaway delivery and other industries. After experiencing the "tempering" of society, they have a rational judgment on career planning and employment, so they are more pragmatic in choosing to master a technology and realize their professional value through the path of skill growth.
Discovering advantages and shortcomings
From college to vocational school, Chen Yucong felt the obvious "water and soil discomfort", especially the switch from "thinking" to "hands-on". "In the past ten years of learning experience, we have been studying hard at our desks. The current courses require a lot of hands-on practice, and we were obviously not in the right state at the beginning."
"Many people are embarrassed to do it or are unwilling to do it." Xu Pibing, who has taught several technician classes, found that in the practical classes at the beginning of enrollment, everyone often did not get the point and lacked the standardization of process operation. In contrast, students who are directly admitted from the main campus of the Technician College have a clear advantage.
However, Wang Xiaolin, who entered the Technician College in junior high school, believes that the solid theoretical foundation and learning ability of "college students" can make up for the short-term lack of practical operation.
"At the beginning of the school year, we led them to do hands-on work, but as the theoretical knowledge deepened, their abilities began to emerge, and they became our mentors." The 20-year-old Wang Xiaolin said that after being promoted to the technician class, the rich experience and learning ability of "college students" became his valuable nutrition.
"College students' logical thinking ability and ability to discover and solve problems are indeed higher." Xu Pibing said that he and many of his teachers were often "stuck" in the college technician class. This feeling of collision of thoughts in the classroom rarely appears in ordinary classes.
In response to this, Qingdao Technician College has made many adjustments and research explorations, such as implementing a small class management of 20 people, formulating a special talent training plan, selecting a fixed team of teachers to specialize in the teaching tasks of the college technician class, and "deconstructing, reconstructing, and coupling" the courses that originally needed to be mastered in 6 years into 6 comprehensive courses, realizing the integration of multiple courses, multiple processes, and multiple trades.
A large amount of drawing and practical exercises every day have changed Chen Yucong from having no idea where to start to enjoying the sense of accomplishment brought by technology. It used to take half an hour to draw a drawing, but now it takes 15 minutes. In one semester, Chen Yucong filled 18 circuit diagrams. By solving equipment circuit problems by hand, he deeply realized that only by coordinating theory and technical skills can practical problems be better solved.
Expanding new career space
The reporter learned that not only in Shandong, but also in Guangdong, Sichuan and other places, there are some vocational colleges that recruit students with bachelor's degrees or above. According to statistics from Guangdong Lingnan Vocational and Technical College, in the past two years, the college has recruited more than 150 undergraduate and above graduates who have "returned to school" to obtain technical skills certificates. The training directions are mainly psychological counselors, public nutritionists and health managers. Many graduates said that skill learning can expand new space for their careers.
The experience of college students "returning to school" to study in vocational schools not only helps them master a technology, but also strengthens their career choices and refreshes their conservative cognition in the past-providing technical guidance to front-line operators in modern intelligent workshops and taking the road of skill development. This is a track that conforms to the trend and has hope.
Qingdao Hongpu Electrical Technology Co., Ltd. has recruited students from technician classes for many consecutive years. "Compared with college students, they have more solid technical capabilities. Compared with technical school students, they have higher theoretical knowledge and professional qualities. They are professional talents in short supply in enterprises. Generally, they can grow into engineers after one or two years of employment. Whether it is treatment or development prospects, they have obvious advantages." said Xu Jian, deputy general manager of the company.
Having been engaged in teaching in the college technician class for 15 years, Xu Pibing has a personal experience of the changes in the employment needs of enterprises. "Nowadays, enterprises are paying more and more attention to compound talents with equal emphasis on theory and skills, and the training model of the college technician class can meet these needs. Because of this, the school often receives telephone consultations, and many technical colleges want to set up college technician classes."
Although the prospects are promising, Xu Pibing still feels powerless in promoting teaching. For example, there is a lack of normative documents for college students' skills re-education, which makes it impossible to refer to standards in teaching models and curriculum design. All sectors of society have different opinions on the "re-education" of college students, and they need to be viewed with a more open and inclusive attitude.
On the day the interview ended, Chen Yucong and Wang Xiaolin participated in interviews with two state-owned enterprises respectively. "The so-called anxiety is actually because of uncertainty." Along the way, Chen Yucong was quite emotional, "When I chose a more pragmatic skill path, many worries disappeared, leaving only the determination to work hard to achieve my goals." (Workers' Daily reporter Zhang Qiang)