STEM in vocational education and training: The future direction

Abstract

Vocational education and training (VET) and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education are two distinct but interconnected forms of education that play complementary roles in preparing individuals for the workforce. This work first discusses the relationship between vocational education and STEM education. The breakdown of students in secondary vocational schools (institutions) by subject categories in China in 2021 illustrates that 63% of students in current vocational education in China engage in STEM-related learning. Vocational education and STEM education have a solid inherent logical connection, but vocational education mainly focuses on training within a specific professional field, lacking the integration and comprehensive approach in STEM education. Furthermore, this work explores whether vocational learning would lose competitiveness due to increased labor mobility. It reveals that VET's competitiveness decreased with increased population mobility. Government policies might consider promoting the integration of vocational education and STEM education, enhancing workforce competitiveness through effective generalization of vocational skills in a STEM education framework.