19th－20th August 2022， the World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference （WVTEDC）， hosted by Ministry of Education of China， was successfully held in Tianjin． It is a valuable chance to review the development of the international cooperation in TEVT field． Since President Xi Jinping proposed the “Belt and Road” Initiative（B＆R） in 2013， it has attracted wide attention from the world． B＆R Initiative has gradually become an important bridge for the Chinese government to strengthen communication， promote practical cooperation， enhance people－to－people and cultural exchanges with different countries． The implementation of the initiative has further highlighted the dominant position and important role of Technical and Vocational Education and Training（TVET）， which providing irreplaceable talent and technical skills support for the education development of B＆R countries． In retrospect，the international TVET cooperation has made great progress within the B＆R Initiative in recent 10 years．
1．Multi－Level Policy Support System for TVET
In order to promote the implementation of B＆R Initiative， improve the level and quality of China’s participation in global education governance， and enrich the scope and modes of cooperation and exchange， the Chinese government has Provided a series policy support guiding documents and policies such as the Vision and Action of Promoting the Joint Construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road， the Opinions on Education and Opening up in the New Era， the Education Action of Promoting Joint Construction of the ‘Belt and Road’”， the Opinions on Strengthening and Improving the Cultural Exchanges Between China and Other Countries， and China’s International Development Cooperation in the New Era was published． Besides， China has formulated and released a number of relevant documents to support boost opening up TVET to the outside world． It is counted that China has signed 197 intergovernmental cooperation documents with 137 countries and 70 international organizations． On this basis， China has continuously deepened cooperation in the field of TVET．
2．New Path Exploration of International TEVT Cooperation
As the key to ensure comprehensive implementation of B＆R Initiative，TEVT institutions have continuously broadened the scope and depth of TEVT cooperation， and formed various innovative cooperation paths． In recent years， vocational colleges have taken the initiative to strengthen exchanges and cooperation， share the development experience and reform achievements of China’s TEVT， drive the reform and development of TVET in countries along the line， and a situation of joint development is created． First， the situation of “joint development” is widely distributed in the region． More than 40 domestic colleges and universities have carried out cooperation projects with B＆R countries， including East Asia， ASEAN， West Asia， South Asia， Central Asia， the Commonwealth countries as well as Central and Eastern Europe． Secondly， forms of international TVET cooperation are multiplex． There are not only education aid under the overall planning of the government， overseas cooperation in establishing new colleges， joint research projects， attracting foreign students， but also staff cooperative training under the promotion of enterprises． In addition， international TEVT cooperation covers a wide range of fields． From mechanical manufacturing such as mechatronics， rail transit such as railway engineering， emerging industries such as 3D printing technology to agriculture， medicine， business， culture and art， etc．， there are rich professional categories．
3．New Situation of International Skills Exchange
The foundation of international education cooperation is people－to－people communication， and talent exchange activities are undoubtedly an effective way to strengthen mutual understanding of talents and promote cooperation． Therefore， in terms of cooperative talent training， China has actively set up Silk Road Scholarships to attract skilled talents， carried out cultural exchanges and academic studies， and other forms of training for foreign students， gradually enhanced the quality of talent training for foreign students in China， and generated international influence in the cooperation with B＆R countries． Besides， domestic higher vocational colleges have established overseas colleges and enrolled nearly 10，000 full－time overseas students， providing a great number of talents for the international development of Chinese enterprises． At the same time， China has also effectively promoted high－level cooperation and talent exchange by initiating and establishing cooperation platforms such the “B＆R TVET Alliance and Industry Education Collaborative Alliance”．
4． B＆R Teachers Training Duo－System Establishment
Teachers play a crucial role in education and teaching． Improving the quality of teachers is of great significance to the cultivation of talents． The B＆R Initiative cross－cultural teacher training system that China is striving to build has achieved initial results． In this process， cross－cultural teacher training has gradually formed two systems． The first is “Confucius Institute” in countries along the line by general colleges and universities． It conducts systematic fundamental theory training． As of December 2019， China has established 550 Confucius Institutes and 1，172 Confucius Classrooms in 162 countries and regions around the world． Some achievements have been made in the cross－cultural teacher training mechanism with Chinese culture． At the same time， the other system is the “Luban workshop” jointly set up overseas by China’s Higher Vocational Colleges and educational institutions in countries along the line． It promotes the global sharing of China’s vocational education achievements through the deep integration of industry and education， and is a process of mutual recognition as well as cooperation． Relying on the platform of International Industry Education Alliance， teachers of Vocational Colleges in China can exchange their professional knowledge and skills on the international platform by participating in overseas training， professional visits and international student competition guidance， so as to effectively promote the cross－border flow of teachers， boost international visits and temporary employment projects， and improve teachers’ international practice ability．
5．Luban Workshop： the Flagship TVET Cooperation
Under the guidance of the Ministry of education and the leadership of Tianjin Municipality， Luban workshop has become an internationally renowned brand of TVET cooperation and cultural exchanges in the B＆R Initiative． Its main forms are overseas cooperation in establishing colleges， college－enterprise cooperation， foreign students education in China， various types and levels of vocational skills competitions， and international academic research activities． Adhering to the principles of equal cooperation， adaptation to local conditions， high－quality priority， focus on ability and technology， as well as integration of industry and education， Luban workshop undertakes the mission of cultivating high－quality technical talents who are familiar with and understand Chinese technology， Chinese crafts and Chinese products． It aims to share China’s high－quality vocational education resources with other countries and establish a regional interest community， a community of shared future and responsibility based on “peaceful cooperation， openness and inclusiveness， mutual learning and mutual benefit”． By 2021， Tianjin has built 20 Luban workshops in 19 countries on the three continents of Asia， Africa and Europe， involving more than 20 international profession such as automation， catering， new energy， railway and automobile． A TVET training system covering secondary vocational education， higher vocational education， applied university and professional master’s degree， technical skills training． technology， academic education and training system has been already established overseas． In the future， Luban workshop will expand its global coverage in different regions， improve the cooperation system， introduce the standards with internationally influence， build an international TVET community with a shared future．
The Chinese TVET Cooperation will take the 2022 Tianjin WVTEDC conference as an opportunity， to promote international exchanges and cooperation dialogue， sharing the TVET concepts and best practices， to contribute wisdom for the global vocational education development in the future．
About the author
Yuan Dayong／ Liu Rumeng， Beijing Foreign Studies University
