Professor William A. Wardle, president of the
James Watt College of Further
and Higher Education -- the largest vocational school in
Scotland -- recently paid a visit to Beijing in an attempt to
explore cooperative opportunities with his Chinese counterparts.
Less than half a month ago, Regency
Institute from South Australia signed agreements with schools
in Beijing and Tianjin on a training program for international
nursing. In addition, it held talks with municipal departments of
Beijing for hotel managerial personnel training.
These two foreign schools are just the latest of a steady flow of
new arrivals in China. Starting in 1993, the Jinsong Vocational
High School in Beijing has cooperated with a German hotel and
catering association and a German culinary school. The diploma of
the high school is recognized both in China and Germany. The
Beijing Business and Trade School has also cooperated with the
British Trade and Education Committee and issued a diploma accepted
both in China and Britain. By next year, Beijing will have 11
schools that offer a "foreign diploma" to students in more than ten
majors, such as tourism and hotel management.
China's internationalization has attracted more and more foreign
vocational schools. "As more international corporations come to
China and more foreigners work in this country in the wake of
China's WTO accession, world-level service including international
hospitals and hotels are needed in the country," said Ms Lin Meili,
manager of international program of the Regency Institute. "China
will see an increasing demand for service personnel. Overseas
training will help cultivate the related talents. Through the
education, people can hone their foreign language level and master
the knowledge of international service industry. All these will
help them find a niche in China."
England, Australia and Germany have a well-developed vocational
education system. William Wardle of the James Watt College cited
three points that attract Chinese students to foreign vocational
schools. The advanced curriculum enables Chinese students to keep
up with the professional knowledge of the rest of the world; a good
focus and practical teaching mode helps them rapidly master this
knowledge and effectively apply it in their work. Moreover, the
international study environment shows them how to deal with people.
The experience will help their future work in China.
So
far, most Chinese students go abroad to receive their overseas
vocational education. James Watt College already has 33 Chinese
students, and is hoping to see this number rise to 50 next year and
to 150 in two or three years. Yet, Professor Wardle also pointed
out that his college strives to provide courses in China, too,
since many prospective students work in China. It has been reported
that Xihua Future Education Company in Beijing has become the
partner of James Watt College and will establish an office for the
college in China. The Regency Institute and its Beijing partner
offer a 1+2 program whereby students are required to go through
one-year study in China first and then study abroad for two
years.
Thus a three-channel approach combining overseas study,
China-foreign cooperative schools and foreign training
organizations will become the norm in vocational training from now
on.
(china.org.cn by Guo Xiaohong June 22, 2002)