Improving Competitiveness through Human Resource Development in China

"Most would acknowledge the role central planning has played in the economic development and modernization of China. But what about skills development of the workforce? Does the vocational education system have anything to do with the Chinese miracle? This book, written by two experts on workforce skills development provides highly readable and interesting insights into this question. Zhu and Min review not only the historical facts on this topic but current practices as well. It is a must reading for any scholar of China." — S. Tamer Cavusgil, Callaway Professorial Chair and CIBER Executive Director, Georgia State University, USA

"This is a welcome and stand-out addition to the increasingly over-crowded market for books on China. These well-regarded academics provide a timely, well written, interesting and historically grounded account of an increasingly key area as the country seeks to change and ‘upgrade’ its economy - skills and workforce development." — Professor Chris Rowley, Kellogg College, University of Oxford & Cass Business School, City, University of London

"Min Min and Ying Zhu are to be congratulated on this welcomed addition to our understanding on what drives competitiveness in China. The authors have used their deep knowledge of China and an array of case studies to craft a narrative on the significance of vocational education to China's success over the past forty years. For too long vocational education has not been awarded the credit it deserves. This book goes a long way to rectifying this serious omission in the literature and is essential reading for all those who wish to understand the 'Chinese miracle'". — Professor John Benson, FASSA, Head, School of Business, Monash University Malaysia

"After over four decades economic reforms, China is on a fast track to integrating itself into the global economy, which can be observed from the dramatic surge in foreign direct investment conducted by Chinese firms. The rapid internationalization of Chinese firms have made an urgent requirement to have a high-skilled workforce. How does China face this challenge through its vocational education and training (VET)? What is the process of VET development in China? What has been achieved through the VET system in China? How has the VET system been reformed to facilitate career development? These questions have now been well addressed by the book of Min and Zhu (2019). Based on a systematic review and case studies, this book contains both highly interesting theoretical and empirical findings and makes a most useful contribution to research in this field. It is a timely study and the authors have done a commendable job." — Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu, Professor of HRM and Chinese Studies, Monash Business School, Monash University, Australia