OPPORTUNITIES
There are various opportunities in China, summary of some areas are:
Higher Education and Vocational Education
China will further open up its education sector to private investors, especially in the fields of higher education and vocational training. Public spending combined with private investment will help ease the insufficient public input, especially in vocational training and higher education
- Overseas studies for Chinese students
There is still a demand for Chinese students to take higher education in overseas countries (in particular, there is an increasing number of students aged 17 to 20 starting A-levels in the UK) because of fierce competition to enter domestic universities. English-speaking countries (UK, Australia, Canada, USA) are the top choices. However, Chinese people are starting to become more selective towards overseas studies as it does not always generate the anticipated career start for many returning students after graduation.
- Overseas campus of UK universities
A major attraction for Chinese students is to enjoy a UK standard education but at lower cost. Some UK universities are looking at local campuses, such as the Universities of Nottingham and Liverpool.
- Vocational education
The country's 20,000 vocational schools have trained more than 10 million specialized workers during the past few decades for agricultural, industrial, medical, health and financial sectors. Latest figures from the Ministry of Education show that by 2008, 124 million Chinese will reach the age for higher education, which puts enormous pressure on colleges. In the next 15 years, China has to establish at least 800 colleges to meet the need. An estimated capital of RMB550bn (US $68bn) is needed. This obviously exceeds what the public coffers can offer.
Training
- Vocational Training. There is high demand for training in tertiary industries, such as hairdressing, cooking and computer game making. This kind of training provides skill improvement with no academic qualifications.
- Professional Training. Good-value professional certificates enjoy a high reputation here, for example, accountancy certificates.
- Translators and interpreters. China still suffers from a major lack of competent translators and interpreters. The industry employs around 500,000 people, including retirees, college students and returnees from overseas universities, who work as freelancers. Only 60,000 professional translators can produce accurate translations from Chinese into a foreign language - not enough to meet China's growing demand for exchanges with other countries.
Education Equipment
The State Council plans to earmark RMB10bn (US $1.23bn) in the next five years to support vocational education The investment will be used to build vocational training bases, improve education facilities and support students from poor families to receive vocational education.
