Zunyi Vocational and Technical College is a public full-time general vocational college that integrates agriculture, commerce, science, engineering, and literature. The delegation comes from the Automotive Engineering School of Zunyi Vocational and Technical College. The Automotive Engineering School has more than one thousand students and has a dual-teacher team consisting of safety assessment engineers, research associate, and engineers. Now the School has five majors: automotive inspection and maintenance technology, new energy vehicle technology, automotive marketing and service, automotive application and maintenance, and automotive electronics technology.

In January 2019, the State Council of China specifically issued a national vocational education reform implementation plan, proposing that vocational education and general education are two different types of education and have equal importance. Since the Reform and Opening Up, vocational education has provided powerful talents and intellectual support for China’s economic and social development. As China enters a new stage of development, industrial upgrading and economic restructuring continue to accelerate, the demand for technical personnel in all industries is becoming increasingly urgent, and the importance of the role of vocational education is becoming more and more prominent. However, compared with developed countries, and with the requirements of building a modern economic system and building a strong country in education, there are still many problems in China’s vocational education, such as inadequate system construction, vocational skills training base construction needs to be strengthened, insufficient motivation for enterprises to participate in teaching, and uneven quality levels of school and personnel training. The report pointed out that without modernization of vocational education, there is no modernization of education. Therefore, a number of vocational education reform programs have been proposed, one of which is to promote the integration of industry and education, and the dual education system between the enterprises and schools.

This time, the delegation wanted to know the system and philosophy of vocational education in France, because vocational education in France is very advanced which combines education and employment, and it is a dual system or apprenticeship system. In France, in addition to theory classes, there are also classes in factories, combining theory with practice. Students may sign the internship at the factory, and also sign directly a contract with the company, they can directly work there after graduation. The delegation met with Mr. Olivier FRANÇOIS, the President of Caf-Carrosserie, and Ms. Lardé FRANÇOISE, the President of Château d’Épluches High School, to learn about the vocational education of the automotive industry.

Château d’Épluches High School is an automotive and transport high school based in Saint-Ouen-l’Aumône with about 70 years of history. The main training majors are engines and auto mechanics CAP, metal structures CAP, transport handling warehousing CAP, engines and auto mechanics Bac-Pro, metal structures Bac-Pro, transportation handling warehousing Bac-Pro etc.

The topics with the high school were learning about the school, understanding the concepts and methods of vocational training in Frace, exploring the possibility of training the teachers from the Automotive Engineering School of Zunyi Vocational and Technical College in Château d’Épluches High School and the possibility of the student exchange program, and cooperation between research teachers. The two sides talked also about the development of the French automotive industry and the possibility of cooperation in automotive engineering.