Recently, the “Teacher Training in China under the Project of Three New Vocational Education Centers in Gabon”, jointly carried out by SZPT and AVIC International Holding Corporation (“AVIC INTL”), officially concluded. This teacher training represents the first cooperation between SZPT and the field of vocational education in Gabon, and is also another innovative attempt to promote the cooperation in the field of vocational education between China and Africa.

A total of 13 trainees participated in the “Teacher Training in China under the Project of Three New Vocational Education Centers in Gabon”, all of whom were high-level officials and experts from the Ministry of Vocational Education in Gabon. During the two-week training, according to the background and characteristics of the trainees, SZPT’s International Office and School of Continuing Education organized experts from inside and outside the campus to carefully prepare cutting-edge courses in the field of vocational education,including the design and development of high-quality teaching resources, the discussion on the path of major group construction, and the digital transformation of global vocational education, and arranged on-site teaching activities of well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises such as BYD, Huawei, AVIC INTL.

In his speech, Raphaël NGAZOUZET, Minister of Vocational Education in Gabon, expressed gratitude to SZPT and AVIC INTL for providing high-quality training for Gabonese trainees. He believed that with the help of Chinese partners, Gabon would have sufficient equipment and talents to deepen innovation in the field of vocational education and make important contributions to the development of enterprises and the diversification of national economy. He said Gabon hopes to continue to join hands with China to further deepen cooperation in the field of vocational education and jointly open up new prospects for China-Gabon vocational education cooperation.

Cao Saixian, Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, said Shenzhen is an open city connecting both inside and outside China, with full economic vitality and rapid development of innovation and entrepreneurship, which provides broad development opportunities and market space for China-Africa strategic cooperation. She was glad to see that officials from the Ministry of Vocational Education in Gabon and leaders of relevant institutions could attend the training in Shenzhen, and hoped that this program would serve as a basis for deepening cooperation between Shenzhen and other cities in Gabon in the field of vocational education. With its new development, Shenzhen is willing to provide Gabon with new opportunities, advance the “Belt and Road” Initiative, support Gabon in realizing sustainable development, and jointly build a China-Africa community with a shared future in the new era.

Lai Weixuan, Chairman of AVIC INT, said that in the face of the urgent demand of African countries for skilled talents and youth employment, AVIC INTL attaches great importance by joining hands with domestic higher vocational colleges and equipment manufacturing enterprises to develop vocational education programs benefiting African young people. The joint implementation of teacher training for vocational education in Gabon with SZPT has further deepened the strategic cooperation between the two sides.

Xu Jianling, President of SZPT, said that SZPT attaches great importance to exchanges and cooperation with African countries and regions. Through the well-designed advanced vocational education system construction, cutting-edge education teaching methods and other macro courses, the training has constructed a new training paradigm from “give fish” to “teach how to fish” and further to “create how to fish” for the students, striving to use the transfer of experience and knowledge to help improve the “autonomic hematopoiesis” ability of Gabon’s local vocational education, and better contribute to the economic and social development in Gabon.

SZPT and AVIC INTL leaders presented completion certificates to Gabonese trainees

At the closing ceremony, SZPT and AVIC INTL leaders presented completion certificates to Gabonese trainees. Based on the good cooperation foundation laid by this training program, SZPT signed a strategic cooperation agreement on international vocational education services with AVIC INTL Project Engineering Company Limited, with the purpose of promoting the cooperation between the two sides and jointly contributing to the “going global” of China’s vocational education.

All along, SZPT has beenactive in the global governance of vocational education, and has a deep foundation for cooperation with African countries. The successful holding of the “Teacher Training in China under the Project of Three New Vocational Education Centers in Gabon” in collaboration with AVIC INTL is an important measure to proactively serve China’s “Belt and Road” initiative. In the future, SZPT will continue to deepen the cooperation between China and Africa in vocational education, and joint hands with local Chinese enterprises to build vocational education centers or schools, and export our vocational education curriculum standards and talent training models as a whole. We will actively implement the education action of jointly constructing the “Belt and Road”, undertake the state’s foreign aid tasks, expand international training and technical cooperation, build vocational education aid training bases jointly with enterprises and relevant institutions and departments, export the vocational education development experience and technical skills and standards, and help promote the economic development of developing countries from the perspective of vocational and technical education.

(Feng Xing, Huang Qingyu, International Office)