Deeply cultivating health vocational education, Guangzhou Health Vocational College empowers Guangdong's high-quality development in this way

Recently, the 2026 Guangdong High-Quality Development Conference has sounded the call for the era of “collaborative development of manufacturing and services.”

At a critical point as Guangzhou’s biomedicine and health industry approaches a trillion-yuan scale, how can vocational education in Guangdong empower this growth? According to reports, Guangzhou Health Vocational and Technical College, the only higher vocational institution in Guangzhou specializing in health and wellness, will adopt the 2026 theme of “Good Governance, Strong Teachers, Innovative Integration” to transform the provincial strategy of “industry collaboration” into practical efforts in health and wellness vocational education.

Moving Away from Single-Point Professional Training, Creating a “Health+” Featured Cluster

For health and wellness vocational education, the core of “industry collaboration” is the deep integration of “high-quality medical services” and “advanced health manufacturing,” with professional layout serving as the strategic move in this integration.

It is understood that Guangzhou Health Vocational and Technical College has broken away from the traditional “single-point training” model in health and wellness majors. It systematically develops specialized clusters such as “Health + Intelligent,” “Medicine + Beauty,” “Nursing + Childcare,” and “Rehabilitation + Wellness,” based on the needs of Guangzhou’s private science parks, Bio Island’s industry chain, beauty industry, and elder care industry, aligning professional development with industrial growth.

For example, the college’s infant and toddler care program focuses on the public welfare demand for accessible childcare, cultivating versatile talents who understand both children’s health care and early development guidance. In response to the “silver economy” trend, it has added a smart wellness direction to traditional rehabilitation majors. Additionally, it connects with the biomedicine R&D industry chain, strengthening skills in laboratory testing and drug development support.

Talent Exchange Between Schools and Enterprises, Resource Sharing, Joint Projects

“Research and innovation cannot be done behind closed doors. In health and wellness vocational education, research must be rooted in industry frontline and serve public needs.” In implementing the “industry collaboration” strategy, Guangzhou Health Vocational and Technical College relies on the Guangzhou Bio-Science Park’s biomedical and health industry-university alliance, working closely with leading enterprises to co-build shared training and R&D platforms, achieving “talent exchange between schools and enterprises, resource sharing, and joint project research.”

It is reported that the college actively promotes enterprise technical backbone members to serve as part-time teachers on campus, encourages faculty to practice in enterprises, and conducts research focused on enterprise technological needs. For small and micro enterprises’ technology transfer demands, the school explores a “use first, transfer later” model to ensure research outcomes move from labs into production lines.

The ultimate goal of research transformation is to serve society. The college integrates research with social training and rural revitalization, providing training in areas like Yangshan for school doctors, emergency response, and traditional Chinese medicine techniques, injecting professional strength into rural healthcare; vigorously promotes the National Health Commission’s “Western Learning to Chinese Medicine” capacity-building program to foster integration of Chinese and Western medicine; and builds skills training systems and lifelong learning platforms tailored to the needs of industry-university alliance members.

Introducing High-Level Talent in Biomedicine, Smart Healthcare, and Elder Care

The Guangdong High-Quality Development Conference emphasizes that “talent is a valuable resource for technological and industrial innovation.” For vocational education, the teaching staff is fundamental to establishing and developing the school.

It is reported that Guangzhou Health Vocational and Technical College has implemented a plan to attract high-level urgently needed talents, focusing on biomedicine, smart healthcare, and elder care, while systematically cultivating leading talents at the university level to accelerate the growth of local professionals. In terms of team building, the college optimizes faculty discipline, hierarchy, and age structure to align staff with professional development and industry needs.

The college states that it will follow the national digitalization strategy for education, building a comprehensive digital and intelligent teaching capacity development system for all teachers. Using AI technology as a driving force, it will conduct specialized training in digital literacy, enabling teachers to “want to use, know how to use, and be good at using” digital tools and AI, promoting a shift from traditional to intelligent teaching models.

Supplying Local Skilled Talent for Overseas Business Expansion

“Going global” in vocational education has become an important way to serve the national strategy of opening up and to demonstrate China’s vocational education strength. Guangzhou Health Vocational and Technical College leverages the “going abroad” approach, extending the “Innovative Integration” concept into international exchanges and cooperation.

It is understood that the college is actively advancing the application for the “Friendship College,” launching the first phase of “Chinese + Vocational Skills” training to meet the demand for technical and skilled talents in overseas universities and key local industries. It aims to develop特色 training programs in nursing, rehabilitation, traditional Chinese medicine, and more, achieving breakthroughs in “going abroad with enterprises” and supplying localized health and wellness talents for Chinese companies’ overseas expansion. It also lays the groundwork for establishing overseas colleges. In terms of cooperative education, the college is preparing at least one Ministry of Education-approved joint program, including international dual-degree classes such as Sino-German cooperation, allowing students to receive international vocational education locally. Additionally, it conducts international joint research in biomedicine and smart elder care, making research a bridge connecting Chinese and foreign health and wellness vocational education.

Text and images | Reporter Guo Ziyang, Correspondent Li Junyi, Lu Guangju