A Study On The Career Planning Of Students In Higher Vocational Colleges

The target research subjects of this paper were students from the class of 2013,2014, and 2015 at the Vocational and Technical College in the Beijing University of Chemical Technology; the research methods that were employed include quantitative analysis, observational study, literary review, experience summarization, graph analytics, and survey questionnaire. The goal for this research is to examine how education in career and life planning skills can be better taught and applied to employment for vocational college graduates; and this was accomplished with series of investigations and analyses on the targeted student groups’post-graduate employment data, job market statuses, effects of career planning in post-graduate professional development, existing problems and their causes within current career planning methods and practices, and based on real life examples, the proven importance of setting career goals for vocational students, as well as references in regards to experiences and lessons learned from both domestic and foreign college students’ career planning education. These studies not only helped to clarify and solidify the understanding of career and life planning methods for vocational students, but also to form and propose measures and pedagogical steps that can be taken to better educate them. The result could be a significant value for motivating vocational college students to plan out their own professional goals and improving the quality of education and training methods in vocational colleges.Career and life planning skills should be an important aspect of the overall college experience; and vocational students should be educated on such skillsets step by step, be guided to developed critical thinking skills, and become aware of the importance and meaningfulness of career planning to their professional lives; it’s important that educators transform the students from passive to proactive learners through the power of guidance and mentorship, and emphasize on practicality. Career planning is not just an educational obligation, but a lifelong responsibility. Understanding the importance of career planning is essential especially for vocational college graduates who neither have a college degree advantage nor work experience in the workforce, and who are facing difficulty finding work in a tough job market today.