Lifelong Vocational Education for Sustainable Development
面向可持续发展的终身职业教育

Promoting the employment of the work force and the development of human resources is an important issue that needs to be resolved in China.It is also crucial to building a well-off society.Premier Wen Jiabao emphasizes the importance of vocational education in a speech delivered at the National Conference on Vocational Education.China's economic development and employment is facing two great changes: both employment of the work force and optimization of the industrial structure are in need of skilled workers.Therefore,China will have to devote great effort to developing vocational education.Developing lifelong vocational education plays an important role in promoting the development of human resources,the employment of labor force,the sustainable development and enhancing the country's competitive power.The idea of lifelong vocational education comes from the idea of lifelong education.It is a new perception of vocational education.It breaks the restrictions of time and space in the narrow sense of vocational education.According to the idea of lifelong vocational education,vocational education should run throughout one's life to provide help for one's whole career development and should be an integration of all kinds of vocational education in different places.Lifelong education has the features of continuation,integration,flexibility,openness and change.Developing lifelong vocational education is a complex work that needs social participation.The basic strategies for developing lifelong vocational education include law assurance,policy control,flexible fund raising,social participation and encouragement for lifelong learning.In law assurance,regulations for lifelong vocational education may be made according to the Vocational Education Act of the P.R.China and local acts may be enacted.In policy-making,there are many aspects as establishing and coordinating the institutions of lifelong vocational education,strengthening the functions of educational departments,building opening schools and providing learning holidays.In flexible fund raising,funding system that combines special grants from governments,funds from industries, funds from society and individual learning accounts may be established.In social participation,platform for participation can be set up and activities for creating learning organizations can be launched.The main forms of lifelong learning encouragement include providing opportunities for development,spiritual awards,economic benefits and qualification accreditation.