China’s technical schools offer hope to desperate university graduates who cannot find a job – but for many, the reality falls short of the promise.
As China’s university graduates face mounting pressure in the job market, a growing number are turning to an unconventional lifeline: vocational training schools. The phenomenon, known as “returning to the furnace”, involves degree-holders enrolling in technical programmes to acquire practical, employable skills.
The trend is gaining measurable momentum. According to a survey and field research by the Chinese Society for Technical and Vocational Education, which covers 105 technical schools, the number of institutions offering formal programmes for university graduates rose from 26 in 2023 to 45 in 2025.
And in 2024, Zhaopin, a major Chinese recruitment platform, reported that 52.2 per cent of graduates believed that returning to technical school would improve their job prospects.
To meet that demand, vocational colleges have rolled out full-time technical classes and short-term skills courses, many with “guaranteed employment” and “state-owned enterprise placements” as key selling points. Some institutions even waive entrance exams, requiring only registration and tuition payment for admission.
The graduates taking this path do so for various reasons, according to a report by the Henan Association for Science and Technology in May.
With little experience and facing a slump in the property sector, Zhou Jingbo, a civil engineering graduate, repeatedly failed in his attempts to secure an interior design role. So, he enrolled at Zhengzhou Technician College to study electrical automation, hoping a practical trade would turn his fortunes around, according to the article.