Graduates from China's "blue-collar" vocational schools have an employment rate of 95.6 percent, but many lose their jobs because of unrealistic expectations, according to a senior official with the Ministry of Education (MOE).

MOE figures show a total of 3.64 million students graduated from vocational schools last year, of whom 3.48 million found jobs. The employment rate for these students was 95.6 percent.

"The employment rate for blue-collar workers has stayed high since 1999 and above 90 percent since 2002," Wang Jiping, the MOE's deputy head of vocational education section, told Xinhua on Wednesday.

"However, the figure is not the cause for optimism because it only indicates that people get employed."

He said many students find jobs, but are unable to stay in the posts for reasons such as overly high expectations for salaries or poor performance.

Wang said vocational school graduates needed more guidance to find jobs that could use their skills and meet "rational" demands for wages, so that they can stay in the posts.

The government is to establish a national information platform to better show market demand for blue-collar talents, he said.

MOE figures show 73.23 percent of the 3.64 million graduates from vocational middle schools found jobs in companies and enterprises, 10 percent started their own businesses, and 16.37 percent went on to further study.

Wang said the demand for highly skilled workers boosted the development of vocational education. To cater to the demand, the MOE called for vocational schools to set up more market-oriented training courses with which students could easily find jobs.

(Xinhua News Agency April 19, 2007)