China aims to solve its graduate jobs crisis by sending academic students to vocational school. But many young people remain sceptical
2-MIN READ2-MINXinyi Wuin BeijingPublished: 7:00pm, 30 Apr 2026Beijing has pledged to expand vocational training for young jobseekers this year, as it looks to help millions of unemployed graduates find work in emerging industries such as robotics and AI.
But the policy drive – which includes plans to encourage university graduates to return to technical school – has drawn mixed reactions from a generation already hit hard by China’s youth unemployment crunch.
Several cities are already doing so. Beijing, for instance, is launching six full-time programmes for college graduates at technical schools this year, combining one year of classroom study with a year-long internship.
