BTEC "Industry-Education Integration" courses has launched at Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College

Title: Pearson's BTEC "Industry-Education Integration" Courses Launched at Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College

Recently, Pearson has introduced its international vocational skills certification courses at Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College. The courses include artificial intelligence and scenic area operation management as part of Pearson's "BTEC Industry-Education Integration Courses," marking a significant step in the expansion of Pearson's localization efforts in the vocational education sector.

Since the release of the "National Vocational Education Reform Implementation Plan" by the State Council in 2019, vocational education has gained more attention from the education sector and society at large. In 2021, with the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, significant milestones such as the passing of the "Revised Draft of the Vocational Education Law of the People's Republic of China" and the convening of the National Vocational Education Conference have further accelerated China's vocational education transformation and development towards a high-quality, value-added, and empowering path, setting a blueprint for high-quality development in the new era.

As a global education company and the largest awarding organization in the UK, Pearson has extensive experience in supporting vocational education. Its BTEC vocational qualifications provide learners with flexible learning pathways by combining knowledge, skills, and their application in real-life scenarios. This allows learners to choose further education or employment flexibly, meeting the growing demand for vocational education in the UK and globally.

Pearson has actively responded to the Chinese government's call to develop vocational education in recent years, leveraging its expertise in global skills training to fully participate in the "Skills Belt and Road International Talent Port Project." This project aims to establish a Sino-British skills education cooperation platform, drawing on the UK's employment-oriented education and training courses, teaching methods, and apprenticeship models to enhance the teaching standards of Chinese vocational colleges and provide students with world-class learning content and services, supporting the rapid development of vocational education in China.

The Pearson BTEC Industry-Education Integration Courses are a significant achievement of the "Skills Belt and Road International Talent Port Project." These courses were developed in collaboration with the UK Sectors Centre of Excellence (UKSCE) through in-depth research on employer needs, industry development, and analysis of Chinese vocational education courses and market demand. They introduce the UK degree apprenticeship system, using the Pearson vocational qualification framework and the industry-education integration systems of various UK National Skills Academies as the core structure, developed in cooperation with academic professors and industry experts from China, the UK, Germany, the US, and other countries. This innovative series of industry-education integration courses includes artificial intelligence, 5G communication, data analysis, elderly care psychology, early childhood education, management, rail transit signalling, animation, scenic area management, advanced manufacturing, and more.

Dr. Ma Liang, Director of the UKSCE, noted that the "Skills Belt and Road – International Talent Port" project aims to align with the requirements of the State Council's "Vocational Education Reform Implementation Plan" by creating a professional industry-education "four integrations" model: professional integration, credential integration, school-enterprise integration, and degree integration. This model features a modern apprenticeship system of school-enterprise cooperation, characterized by simultaneous enrollment and employment, study and work integration, and direct employment upon graduation, leveraging resource advantages and collaborating with relevant domestic and foreign enterprises to provide students with high-quality internship and practice opportunities.

Established in 1999, Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College is a full-time regular higher vocational institution under the Huali University Group, with over 16,000 full-time students and 37 high vocational majors, constructing a professional system with engineering as the main focus, coordinated development of economics, management, literature, arts, and medicine. With a professional setting focused on the workplace, practical work-oriented courses, and an extensive employer network, the college has achieved high employment rates and employer satisfaction for many years.

Marlon Hai, Executive President of Guangzhou Huali Science and Technology Vocational College, stated, "Integrating Pearson's high-quality vocational education experience into daily teaching is the implementation of internationalized 'industry-education integration.' The artificial intelligence technology application major is a pillar of the college's high-level professional group and a key cultivation major. Aligning the college's original artificial intelligence technology application and business English majors with the UK Skills and Talent Center's 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'Scenic Area Operation Management' majors will not only broaden employment channels and directions but also enhance the college's brand influence."

Pearson's "BTEC Industry-Education Integration Courses" will also be gradually introduced in various regions, including Beijing, Tianjin, Henan, Hebei, Shandong, Guangdong, Hainan, Jilin, Inner Mongolia, Guizhou, Guangxi, and Zhejiang.