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Volume 10,Issue 8

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24 December 2025
A Literature Review on the Cultivation of Vocational Undergraduate Talents in China: Essential Differences and Compatibility Requirements
Lihong Zhong
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1 Shenzhen University of Information Technology, Shenzhen, China,
JCER 2025 , 9(12), 19–26; https://doi.org/10.26689/jcer.v9i12.13220
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Abstract

As a key initiative in China’s efforts to build a modern vocational education system, the positioning and model of talent cultivation in undergraduate-level vocational education (vocational undergraduate) have become an important issue. Based on a systematic literature review, this paper aims to clarify the essential differences between vocational undergraduate talent cultivation and regular undergraduate and higher vocational education, and to analyze its key compatibility requirements. The study finds that vocational undergraduate education inherently possesses dual characteristics of “vocational” and “higher education,” following the logic of the work system, and aims to cultivate high-level technical and skilled talents who can engage in technological integration and innovation as “domain implementers.” This stands in sharp contrast to the discipline-oriented knowledge of regular undergraduate education and the skill-oriented operation of higher vocational education. The successful implementation of vocational undergraduate talent cultivation requires meeting three compatibility requirements: alignment with industrial development needs, adaptation to learners’ individual sustainable development, and integration with the modern vocational education system. Practical approaches include clarifying cultivation positioning based on technical logic, innovating industry-education integration models, building competency-oriented curriculum systems, and developing a “dual-qualified” faculty team. Despite challenges such as social recognition and the depth of industry-education integration, the future development of vocational undergraduate education requires strengthening its distinctive characteristics, deepening school-enterprise cooperation, advancing digital transformation, and improving the vocational education system. The conclusion of this paper argues that vocational undergraduate talent cultivation is a systematic project, and its high-quality development is crucial to supporting national strategies and socio-economic development.

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