When the Guiyang Vocational and Technical College held a special job fair, recently, for freshmen and sophomores, it marked the beginning of a new era for Chinese college hiring practices, under the name "appointment employment" to allow new students to look for prospective employment in the future.

The fair attracted around 100 Guizhou companies interested in future staff members, from among the 7,000 new students, one of whom, Wang Minyu, a freshman in interior design, commented, "For freshmen like me, it's really cool to have an opportunity to work and study for your favorite companies in advance, which helps orient us."

This is understandable when you consider that, not so long ago, China's vocational and technical schools were complete strangers to the job market, with some experts remarking that the previous situation was the result of the theory taught in class being out of touch with reality.

Amplifying on this, Zhan Guoshu, a former chief editor of People's Daily Overseas Edition, remarked, "What was taught in vocational schools was way behind society's needs," which was echoed by Zhang Jiangping, CEO of Peacebird, a top women’s wear brand, "It takes us as long as 2-3 years to train new graduates how to master the practical skills that we need."

Zhilian.com, a job website, reports that 57 percent of the companies consider practical skills and internships to be very important, or, in the words of Sa Rula, an assistant professor of economics at Minzun University of China, in the city of Beijing, "What modern college students really need is to develop various talents characterized by the 'three cans' -- can talk, can write and can do."

So, the participation of employers in higher education or vocational education is essential to resolving the predicament of an imbalance in supply and demand, hence the "appointment employment", which is distinct from internships, and helps colleges cultivate students in relation to job requirements.