Vocational education includes vocational school education and vocational training. Vocational school education is academic education, which is divided into secondary vocational school education and higher vocational school education. Vocational training is non-academic education, including pre-job training, apprenticeship training, on-the-job training, re-employment training, entrepreneurship training and other vocational training.

The purpose of vocational education is to cultivate applied talents, socialist workers and socialist builders with a certain cultural level and professional knowledge and skills. Compared with general education and adult education, vocational education pays more attention to the cultivation of practical skills and practical work ability.

On April 20, 2022, the 34th meeting of the 13th the NPC Standing Committee adopted the newly revised People's Republic of China (PRC) Vocational Education Law.

Vocational education support measures:

On June 26th, 20 14, the Ministry of Education issued opinions on the reform and development of China's vocational education. China will support some willing and qualified undergraduate colleges to transform into applied technology universities. Ge Daokai, director of the Department of Vocational Education and Adult Education of the Ministry of Education, said that the previous report that "600 colleges and universities across the country will transform vocational education" was "inaccurate". At present, more than 130 colleges and universities have applied for pilot transformation.