Zhou Xiaorong (R), a trainer from Suzhou Chien-Shiung Institute of Technology, instructs a student at a training center in the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 24, 2026. Since the arrival of the first German enterprise in 1993, Taicang has attracted more than 560 German enterprises. Known as the "hometown of German enterprises" in China, Taicang has been deeply engaged in economic and trade cooperation with Germany.
The German vocational education, famous for its dual training system, combines theory taught in vocational schools with job training at enterprises, creating a win-win talent development ecosystem for both enterprises and students.
Taicang introduced Germany's dual training system in 2001 to address its mismatch between supply and demand for industrial talent. Over the past two decades or more, the city has continuously adapted and localized the German approach, gradually building a collaborative training system that brings together government, schools, enterprises, and industry associations.
Today, the steadily improving dual training system in Taicang continues to fuel talent-driven industrial growth, sustaining the city's cooperation with Germany, industrial upgrading, and high-quality economic development. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
An aerial drone photo taken on June 24, 2026 shows a view of the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park and surrounding areas in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province.(Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)
Technicians Lu Yudan (L) and Zhang Zhizheng, both graduates of a dual training program of Suzhou Chien-Shiung Institute of Technology, check a mould at IMS Gear (Taicang) Co., Ltd. in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 25, 2026.(Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
An aerial drone photo taken on June 24, 2026 shows a view of the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Wang Xuzhong/Xinhua)
Students in the dual training program prepare for a skills test at a training center in the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 24, 2026.(Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
A manager (L) of CIT (Taicang) Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. talks with employees who graduated with a dual training background at the Sino-German life science park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 25, 2026.(Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
A teacher from Suzhou Chien-Shiung Institute of Technology gives a lecture on control programming technology to students at a training center in the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 24, 2026.(Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
A student in the dual training program prepares for a skills test at a training center in the Sino-German industry-education integration industrial park in Taicang, east China's Jiangsu Province, March 24, 2026.(Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)
