Modern Apprenticeship in China’s Vocational Education: A Systematic Review of Policy, Design, and Outcomes

Modern Apprenticeship in China’s Vocational Education: A Systematic Review of Policy, Design, and Outcomes

Jinshan Cheng¹, Vincent Wee²

¹University Tun Abdul Razak

²Hangzhou Vocational & Technical College

DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.909000014

Received: 22 August 2025; Accepted: 30 August 2025; Published: 26 September 2025

ABSTRACT

China expanded modern apprenticeship in VET, yet the designs that scale with quality and equity remain unclear. This study reviews 48 empirical sources from 2021 to 2025 to capture the post reform consolidation and rapid massification period. A systematic review with framework synthesis and directed content analysis graded evidence as strong, moderate, or limited based on number of contributing studies, design diversity, and directional consistency. Stronger results are associated with collaborative governance, staged school-enterprise cooperation, alternation of work and study, real production tasks, trained mentors, and dual-qualified teachers. Student outcomes improve in engagement, competence, on-time graduation, and progression to higher education. Employer and system effects include better skill match, while turnover control and equity remain weak. Constraints persist in stigma, teacher shortages, uneven regional capacity, and quality assurance. The synthesis translates into a prioritized roadmap that advances policy alignment and sector councils, program fidelity with mentor development, and supports that protect equity at scale. The roadmap guides ministries, colleges, and firms on near term implementation.

Keywords: Modern apprenticeship, Technical and vocational education and training, China, School enterprise cooperation, Policy governance, Student outcomes

INTRODUCTION

China targets higher quality skills to support industrial upgrading, yet vocational education and training shows uneven coordination and delivery. Policy reforms since 1978 established staged school-enterprise cooperation and reframed vocational education as a type-based system with equal status, although implementation varies across institutions and regions (Zhou & Xu, 2023; Xue & Li, 2022; Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022). Two national apprenticeship tracks evolved with distinct logics. Evidence indicates that collaborative designs achieve higher satisfaction among employers and apprentices than top-down models, while sectoral governance gaps persist (Zhang, 2021). Recent initiatives promote digitisation, standardisation, and industry–education integration, yet funding and staffing constraints remain (Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Massification raises enrolment without broad skill gains. Cooperation networks reduce mismatch but do not control turnover, which limits productivity stability (Song & Xu, 2024; Müller, 2024). Social stigma and historical legacies depress vocational status. Graduates face lower earnings and greater precariousness than academic peers (Wang, 2024; Wang & Wang, 2023; Hao & Pilz, 2021). These tensions create a clear gap on which governance and program designs scale with quality and equity.

Modern apprenticeship offers a structured alternative that combines work and study, real production tasks, enterprise mentors, and dual-qualified teachers, with sectoral applications in manufacturing and in agriculture and forestry (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021; Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023). Evidence links apprenticeship to higher engagement, stronger competence, and improved academic progression, including on-time graduation and access to higher education, while degree apprenticeships report strong completion and job readiness (de Amesti & Claro, 2021; Voeller, 2022; Lei & Panicker, 2025). Student willingness reflects perceived benefits, norms, self-efficacy, and external conditions, moderated by situational factors (Zhang & Song, 2024). Teachers’ workplace learning strengthens curriculum-to-practice alignment (Zhao & Ko, 2024). To address the identified gap, this study synthesizes empirical work published from 2021 to 2025, a period that captures post-reform consolidation, rapid massification, and accelerated digitisation. The review examines two questions: which policy designs, governance arrangements, and school-enterprise models associate with effective implementation in China, and what student, employer, and system outcomes emerge relative to school-based VET.

Problem Statement

China faces a skilled-labour shortfall despite VET expansion. First, governance remains fragmented, with inconsistent policy logics and weak school–enterprise coordination. These arrangements reduce mismatch yet fail to curb turnover, and quality assurance varies across institutions, undermining productivity stability and outcome consistency (Zhang, 2021; Zhou & Xu, 2023; Müller, 2024; Lu & Wang, 2023; Deng et al., 2022). Second, program fidelity is uneven. Curricula remain narrow, mentoring is weak, and commitments between colleges and firms are uncertain, which limits learning gains and dampens employer satisfaction (Zhang, 2021; Zhou & Xu, 2023). Third, equity lags. Social stigma and historical legacies depress VET standing, graduates face lower earnings and greater precariousness, and massification benefits accrue to advantaged groups, leaving secondary level and undergraduate transition under-examined (Wang, 2024; Wang & Wang, 2023; Hao & Pilz, 2021; Song & Xu, 2024; Lu & Wang, 2023). These conditions make it urgent to identify which modern apprenticeship designs deliver scalable quality and equitable progression, and to show how governance and program choices translate into student, employer, and system outcomes in practice (Qi & Chen, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024).

Research Objectives

• To assemble and appraise empirical studies from 2021 to 2025 using transparent PRISMA-style screening, double coding with reported reliability, and directed content analysis that grades evidence on governance, program features, and outcomes.
• To translate graded findings into a prioritised implementation roadmap for China’s VET that groups actions by policy, program, and student outcomes, while addressing constraints on turnover control and equity at scale.

Research questions

• Which governance designs and program features are consistently associated with stronger student, employer, and system outcomes in China’s modern apprenticeship during 2021 to 2025, and under what implementation conditions do these associations hold across sectors and institution levels?
• How strong and consistent is the evidence for each design feature after grading by study quality and design type, including negative or null effects on turnover control and equity, and what priority actions follow for policy, program, and student outcomes?

Limitations

This review uses peer-reviewed and reputable English language sources on China’s vocational education and apprenticeships. This choice supports clarity and consistency but may omit strong Chinese language scholarship and local grey literature. Evidence spans varied sectors, designs, and outcome metrics, so formal meta-analysis is not feasible and causal claims remain cautious. Comparability is reduced by differing measures, yet synthesis of patterns is still possible. Geographic coverage tilts toward coastal provinces, while inland contexts appear less often. A small subset of sources are conference papers or short reports that offer useful insights but limited methodological detail. Findings draw on published accounts rather than raw datasets, so verification relies on triangulation across studies rather than reanalysis. Temporal scope varies across studies

LITERATURE REVIEW

Scope and definitions

In China’s VET context, modern apprenticeship denotes school and enterprise co training that embeds real production tasks, mentor guidance, and work and study alternating to develop high level skills (Cheng & Wee, 2023; Sun & Cui, 2021; Qi & Chen, 2024; Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021). It sits within a type-based VET system and a long reform trajectory that includes distinct MOE and MOHRSS approaches and staged models of school–enterprise cooperation (Xue & Li, 2022; Zhang, 2021; Zhou & Xu, 2023). Pedagogy draws on dual qualified teachers, workplace learning, and cognitive or work-based learning approaches that structure mentoring and curriculum (Zhao & Ko, 2024; Suyitno, Kamin, Jatmoko, Nurtanto, & Sunjayanto, 2022; Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023). Quality evaluation and policy mapping frame this review (Lu & Wang, 2023; Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022; Yan, 2023; Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Evidence on willingness and academic progression motivates a design and outcomes synthesis (Zhang & Song, 2024; de Amesti & Claro, 2021).

Policy and governance trajectory

From 1978 onward, school–enterprise cooperation progressed through four stages: spontaneous development, central position establishment, systematic design, and institutional construction (Zhou & Xu, 2023). Policy discourse reframed vocational education as a type-based system with equal status and articulated three directions, four problems, and four reforms for advancement (Xue & Li, 2022). Reviews note a shift from quantity expansion to quality improvement across successive reforms (Yuan & Wang, 2021). A policy systematic review identifies six governance themes: modern TVET system, school-based provision, competency-oriented curricula, student incentives, employer incentives, and workplace-based training (Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024). Historical analyses trace evolving student choices within structural shifts that shape sector positioning (Hao, Wang, Wang, Yang, & Ma, 2024).

During the 2000s and 2010s, two national apprenticeship tracks emerged with divergent logics: a top-down model under MOHRSS and a collaborative model under MOE, which produced different results for employers and apprentices (Zhang, 2021). Project based governance raised academic achievements and social resources, while producing homogeneity and Matthew effects across colleges (Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023). The ministry promoted digitisation and standardisation, and local governments advanced industry–education integration with exemplary cases and dual qualified teachers, although funding and staffing constraints persisted (Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Bibliometric mapping shows hotspots in school–enterprise cooperation and talent training modes, with uneven institutional and regional distribution (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022). The 2019 enrolment expansion triggered pilots in Guangdong and motivated community level reconstruction of apprenticeship at district–college scale (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021; Mo & Mao, 2021).

Since 2020, policy attention tied modern apprenticeship to Made in China 2025, calling for deeper industry–education integration and improved collaborative mechanisms to cultivate innovative technical talent (Qi & Chen, 2024). Operational diagnostics reported weak supervision and proposed countermeasures to strengthen college–enterprise cooperation (Feng, 2023). Sector initiatives included line leader training in advanced manufacturing and talent training in agriculture and forestry, institutionalising alternation of work and study with enterprise participation (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021; Sun & Cui, 2021). Cooperation networks reduced skill mismatch yet did not control turnover, which constrained stable productivity gains (Müller, 2024). Recent proposals emphasised craftsmanship cultivation across family, school, government, and enterprise, entrance examination reform toward craftsmanship logics, and unified examination systems for coherence and fairness (Ke, 2025; Yang & Chia, 2023).

Program design features

Core designs pair colleges and enterprises to alternate study and work, embed real production tasks, and use enterprise mentors to develop practical skills (Cheng & Wee, 2023; Sun & Cui, 2021; Qi & Chen, 2024). Sector models feature line leader pathways supported by school–enterprise platforms and dual qualified teachers (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021). Community college degree apprenticeships depend on reconfigured campus resources and coordinated employers, with a reported 66 percent completion rate at Harper College (Voeller, 2022). Earn and learn structures aim to widen access and reduce financial barriers (Decker, 2021). Work based learning strengthened pre service teacher competence in automotive fields (Suyitno, Kamin, Jatmoko, Nurtanto, & Sunjayanto, 2022). Cognitive apprenticeship, including video support, improved decision making in calculus courses relative to conventional teaching (Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023). Workplace learning with industry partners enhanced curriculum design and student transition support (Zhao & Ko, 2024). TCM education blended traditional apprenticeship with modern methods in hybrid models (Zhou, Yang, Bi, & Wang, 2024). Guidance relations in firms adopted SECI informed structures to organise knowledge flows (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021).

Designs added student support and evaluation tools. Participation intent rose with perceived benefits, norms, self-efficacy, external conditions, and “1+X” certification, with situational factors moderating behaviour, which informed program scaffolds and planning education (Zhang & Song, 2024). Mixed methods evidence associated hands on learning and apprenticeships with higher engagement and confidence across students, educators, and employers (Lei & Panicker, 2025). Quality management applied embedded neural networks for personalised teaching, skill inheritance, and resource integration (Chen, 2024). A grounded model linked quality to external recognition and internal resources, guiding institutional strategies (Lu & Wang, 2023). An ANN based framework evaluated school and enterprise motivation and identified key influences (Ji & Li, 2021). Craftsmanship cultivation spanned family, school, government, and enterprise, shaping cultivation strategies (Ke, 2025). International students benefited from integrated learning with enterprise ties and hands on experiences that built social capital (Xu & Stahl, 2025). Policy cases described dual qualified teachers and standardisation efforts that supported implementation (Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024).

Trade-offs were salient. Cooperation networks narrowed and deepened curricula to reduce firm training costs, while students preferred general and transferable skills (Müller, 2024). Expansion produced skill shortages and uneven benefits concentrated among elite students (Song & Xu, 2024). Attractiveness depended on perceived promotion space, informing program length and pathways (Hao & Pilz, 2021). Vocational graduates faced lower earnings and higher precariousness than academic peers, which raised design stakes (Wang & Wang, 2023). Operational status weakened without supervision and targeted countermeasures (Feng, 2023). Awareness and integration gaps reduced uptake in technical colleges, even where students valued employability benefits (Chukwu & Gades, 2024). Internships in Zhejiang associated with improved innovative thinking, communication, problem solving, value creation, responsibility, and employer attractiveness (Chen & Gan, 2021). Labor literacy showed deficits with identifiable determinants that programs could target (Wu, Duan, & Luo, 2024). Degree apprenticeships and international evidence indicated potential to raise completion and academic progression, supporting careful design in China (Voeller, 2022; de Amesti & Claro, 2021). Macro reviews cited teacher shortages and school–enterprise separation, while governance experiments shaped resources and homogeneity, informing breadth of cooperation and design choices (Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024; Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023; Yan, 2023; Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022; Wang, 2025; Wang, 2024).

Student outcomes

Across intentions and learning, integrated work and study correlated with positive effects. Willingness to participate increased with perceived benefits, norms, external conditions, and self-efficacy, with situational factors moderating the behaviour path (Zhang & Song, 2024). Hands on learning and apprenticeships associated with higher engagement, retention, and confidence among students, educators, and employers (Lei & Panicker, 2025). Cognitive apprenticeship, including video support, improved mathematical decision making relative to conventional teaching (Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023). Work based learning apprenticeships strengthened pre service teacher competence in knowledge, attitudes, and skills (Suyitno, Kamin, Jatmoko, Nurtanto, & Sunjayanto, 2022). Teachers’ workplace learning with enterprises enhanced curriculum design and supported student transitions (Zhao & Ko, 2024). Literature described holistic vocational development and sustainable career trajectories contingent on system structures and labour markets (Ertelt, Frey, Hochmuth, Ruppert, & Seyffer, 2021).

Progression and employability outcomes appeared across contexts. In a matched design, apprentices were more likely to graduate on time and access higher education than non-apprentices, which indicated academic benefits rather than trade-offs (de Amesti & Claro, 2021). Degree apprenticeships at a community college reported a 66 percent completion rate and perceived gains in academic achievement and job readiness from stakeholder perspectives (Voeller, 2022). Internships in Zhejiang associated with improved innovative thinking, communication, problem solving, value creation, responsibility, and employer attractiveness (Chen & Gan, 2021). International students in a Chinese VET college described integrated learning with enterprise ties and hands on experience that built social capital and shaped post study aspirations (Xu & Stahl, 2025). Earn and learn pathways aimed to widen access and reduce financial barriers in support of equity objectives (Decker, 2021). Sector initiatives in agriculture and forestry and clothing emphasised alternation of work and study with enterprise participation to raise talent quality (Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023).

Constraints tempered these gains. Rapid massification prioritised enrolment over educational quality and left skill formation concentrated within after school associations and an elite subset, with limited employment improvements for the broader cohort (Song & Xu, 2024). Vocational graduates earned less, attained fewer high skilled white-collar roles, and faced greater precariousness than academic peers (Wang & Wang, 2023). Career attractiveness reflected perceived promotion space more than credential level, and general high schools remained preferred (Hao & Pilz, 2021). Confucian legacies sustained a hierarchy that devalued vocational learning and influenced choices and status (Wang, 2024). Marine navigation graduates reported subjective career unsuccessfulness related to adaptation preparation, adaptability, actions, and situational factors, which suggested targeted support needs (Wang, Ye, Lee, & Miao, 2022). Cooperation networks reduced mismatch but did not control turnover, limiting stable productivity gains that could reinforce student trajectories (Müller, 2024). System reviews cited teacher shortages and school–enterprise separation as persistent constraints (Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024).

Implementation conditions shaped experiences and outcomes. Student side evidence in Zhejiang identified coordination mechanisms, institutional support, safety assurances, and guidance quality as positives, with concerns over new technologies, time management, working conditions, and compensation (Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025). Enterprise stakeholders stressed collaboration, association roles, policy backing, mentor training, and communication as determinants of effectiveness (Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025). Weak supervision and uneven cooperation reduced operational strength, and proposed countermeasures included stronger college–enterprise platforms and dual qualified staff (Feng, 2023; Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021). Calls linked modern apprenticeship to Made in China 2025 with deeper industry–education integration and improved collaborative mechanisms (Qi & Chen, 2024). SECI informed guidance relations clarified mentor–apprentice knowledge flows (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021). Additional enablers included quality evaluation models, motivation assessment, competence based curricula, hybrid TCM apprenticeship, craftsmanship cultivation, policy digitisation, and staged cooperation reforms that provided the context for outcomes and equity prospects (Lu & Wang, 2023; Ji & Li, 2021; Chen, Goncharova, Li, & Frommberger, 2024; Zhou, Yang, Bi, & Wang, 2024; Ke, 2025; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024; Zhou & Xu, 2023; Yan, 2023; Yuan & Wang, 2021; Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023; Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022; Chen, 2024; Zhang, 2021; Yang & Chia, 2023).

Employer and system outcomes

Policy reforms elevated vocational education to a type-based system and moved from quantity to quality, yet system level outcomes remained mixed (Xue & Li, 2022; Yuan & Wang, 2021). Two national apprenticeship tracks produced different results, with the collaborative model satisfying more employers and apprentices, while neither track delivered ideal training without industry level governance (Zhang, 2021). Cooperation developed through staged policies and recorded progress, although problems remained for improvement (Zhou & Xu, 2023). A policy review linked TVET to national development through six themes that included employer incentives and workplace training (Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024). Bibliometric mapping showed hotspots in school–enterprise cooperation and uneven institutional distribution (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022). System overviews reported teacher shortages, separation of schools and enterprises, funding constraints, and digital resource issues despite efforts in digitisation and integration; recommendations emphasised standardisation, cross regional cooperation, and improved evaluation and certification for greater coherence (Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024; Yan, 2023).

For employers, cooperation networks helped reduce skill mismatches but did not control turnover, which limited stable productivity gains (Müller, 2024). Project based governance brought higher academic achievements and greater social resources, alongside homogeneity and Matthew effects among colleges competing for projects (Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023). Enterprise facing designs institutionalised alternation of work and study through real production tasks, line leader pathways, and agricultural and forestry coordination, strengthening practice alignment (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021; Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023). Guidance relations in firms followed knowledge conversion structures that clarified mentoring roles (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021). Improved collaborative mechanisms were urged for advanced manufacturing under Made in China 2025 (Qi & Chen, 2024). Motivation evaluation models and quality frameworks supported participation and recognition by enterprises and industries (Ji & Li, 2021; Lu & Wang, 2023). Embedded neural networks promised quality management, resource integration, personalised teaching, and market docking that served employer needs (Chen, 2024). Workplace learning by teachers with enterprises enhanced curriculum design and student transitions into industry (Zhao & Ko, 2024).

Completion, progression, and equity outcomes shaped employer pipelines. In a matched design, apprentices showed higher on time graduation and higher education access than non-apprentices, which indicated no academic trade off (de Amesti & Claro, 2021). Degree apprenticeships reported a 66 percent completion rate, improved job readiness, and a new college income stream, alongside coordination challenges between education and business (Voeller, 2022). Earn and learn structures could widen access and reduce financial barriers in support of equity goals (Decker, 2021). Hands on learning and apprenticeships associated with higher engagement, retention, and job readiness (Lei & Panicker, 2025). International students in a Chinese VET college described integrated learning with enterprise ties and hands on experience that built social capital for future choices (Xu & Stahl, 2025). Hybrid approaches in traditional Chinese medicine and competence-based curricula aligned education with workplace practice, while implementation varied across national and institutional contexts (Zhou, Yang, Bi, & Wang, 2024; Chen, Goncharova, Li, & Frommberger, 2024).

Several pressures constrained employer and system outcomes. Massification produced more graduates yet fewer skills for the broad cohort, with benefits concentrated among elites and limited employment improvements (Song & Xu, 2024). Vocational graduates earned less, reached fewer high skilled white-collar roles, and faced more job precariousness than academic peers (Wang & Wang, 2023). Attractiveness reflected long term promotion space more than credential level, while general high schools remained preferred (Hao & Pilz, 2021). Confucian legacies shaped a hierarchy that lowered the standing of vocational learning (Wang, 2024). Craftsmanship cultivation required joint action by family, school, government, and enterprise (Ke, 2025). Entrance examination reform should shift toward craftsmanship logic with a unified national system for equity and fairness (Yang & Chia, 2023). Labor literacy showed deficits with identifiable determinants that programs could address, while marine navigation graduates reported subjective career risks that called for targeted support in training and planning (Wu, Duan, & Luo, 2024; Wang, Ye, Lee, & Miao, 2022). Evidence from Zhejiang highlighted coordination, institutional support, safety assurances, and guidance quality as positives for students, with concerns over policies, conditions, and compensation; enterprise stakeholders prioritised policy support, mentor development, association roles, and coordination for effective delivery (Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025; Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025). Awareness and integration gaps at technical colleges could reduce apprenticeship uptake, even where students valued employability benefits, which signalled the importance of outreach for system delivery (Chukwu & Gades, 2024).

Synthesis

Table 1：Synthesis of empirical findings

Policy, program, and outcome evidence converge on a clear pattern. Collaborative governance, staged cooperation, and workplace training align with stronger results than top-down tracks (Zhang, 2021; Zhou & Xu, 2023). Effects depend on funding, staffing, and sectoral coordination, which remain uneven (Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Policy reframing toward a type-based system supports quality aims, yet project based incentives generate homogeneity and Matthew effects (Xue & Li, 2022; Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023). Mapping studies show regional concentration and institutional imbalance (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022). Pilots after the 2019 expansion link modern apprenticeship to industry–education integration and Made in China 2025 (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021; Mo & Mao, 2021; Qi & Chen, 2024). Weak supervision is reported, which justifies countermeasures (Feng, 2023). Cooperation networks reduce mismatch without controlling turnover, which constrains productivity (Müller, 2024). Proposals emphasise craftsmanship cultivation and entrance examination reform for status and fairness (Ke, 2025; Yang & Chia, 2023).

Design evidence is most consistent for alternation of work and study, real production tasks, trained mentors, and dual qualified teachers (Cheng & Wee, 2023; Sun & Cui, 2021; Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021). These features associate with higher engagement, competence, and academic progression, including on time graduation (Lei & Panicker, 2025; de Amesti & Claro, 2021). Degree apprenticeship and internship cases reinforce employability and transition claims (Voeller, 2022; Chen & Gan, 2021). Cognitive apprenticeship and teacher workplace learning add decision making and curriculum alignment benefits (Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023; Zhao & Ko, 2024). Trade-offs persist. Firms prefer narrow curricula for cost control, while students value transferable skills (Müller, 2024; Hao & Pilz, 2021). Equity is fragile under massification, with wage and stability gaps for vocational graduates (Song & Xu, 2024; Wang & Wang, 2023; Wang, 2024).

Implementation conditions explain variance and offer levers for scale. Quality frameworks, motivation assessment, and digitised management support fidelity and recognition when funding and staffing are secured (Lu & Wang, 2023; Ji & Li, 2021; Chen, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). SECI informed mentoring and teacher workplace learning convert tacit knowledge and align curricula with practice (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021; Zhao & Ko, 2024). Stakeholder studies identify association roles, policy backing, mentor development, coordination mechanisms, safety assurances, and fair compensation as determinants (Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025). System constraints endure in teacher shortages and school–enterprise separation (Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024). Governance that builds sector councils and clear standards can address these gaps (Zhou & Xu, 2023). A graded evidence approach supports prioritisation by policy makers, colleges, and firms. Turnover control and equity provide near term tests of success.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study adopts a positivist philosophy and a deductive approach. A mono-method qualitative systematic review is selected to synthesise heterogeneous empirical work on China’s modern apprenticeship. The design suits the aims because policy logics, governance arrangements, and program features vary across sectors and levels, which favours structured qualitative aggregation over statistical pooling. The review targets 2021 to 2025 to capture post-reform consolidation and massification. The unit of analysis is the empirical study on China vocational education and apprenticeship. Eligible items are English, peer-reviewed journal articles and reputable conference proceedings that report extractable evidence on policy, design, implementation, or outcomes. Purely conceptual pieces, editorials, and studies without China relevance are excluded.

Searches covered major academic databases and publisher platforms. A pre-specified screening protocol guided title or abstract checks followed by full-text verification. Decisions followed rule-based eligibility criteria and were recorded in an extraction sheet for traceability. Reporting uses PRISMA-style headings with counts stated in text. The corpus is locked in August 2025. The time horizon is cross-sectional for the 2021 to 2025 window. Methodological validity is supported through a clear scope, transparent criteria, and documented selection.

Data Analysis Plan

This study analysed 48 empirical sources from 2021 to 2025, mainly China based with selective Western comparators for context. Evidence from Sections 6.1 to 6.6 was reorganised through framework synthesis keyed to RQ1 and RQ2. Directed content analysis used a predefined codebook that captured governance stance and trajectory, reform track, cooperation stage, integration and digitisation initiatives, and linkage to Made in China 2025. Program features included alternation of work and study, real production tasks, enterprise mentor systems, dual-qualified teachers, and sector exemplars in line-leader training, agriculture and forestry, traditional Chinese medicine, and teacher workplace learning. Coding also captured SECI-style guidance, ANN-based motivation appraisal, grounded quality models, and embedded neural-network management. Provenance was preserved through study-level cross-references.

Outcome synthesis extracted directional statements on on-time graduation, higher education access, completion rate, job readiness, engagement and competence, mismatch reduction, turnover control, earnings and job quality, equity, and attractiveness. Evidence was graded as strong, moderate, or limited based on number of contributing studies, design diversity, and directional consistency. Western studies served as boundary checks for plausibility, not as pooled evidence. Pathway mapping connected policy stage to design feature to outcome, which identified consistent associations and constraints across sectors and levels. Negative cases and stated limits remained in scope to avoid confirmation bias. No statistical meta-estimates or formal frequency counts were produced. The analysis relied on explicit cross-study patterning, exemplar contrasts, and triangulation across policy, program, student, and employer perspectives. Sensitivity checks repeated the synthesis after excluding lower-detail items and then reassessed stability.

FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

Table 2: Evidence-graded synthesis answering RQ1 and RQ2 (2021–2025)

Table 2 consolidates evidence from the 2021 to 2025 corpus to answer RQ1 and RQ2 with an evaluative lens. It grades each governance design and program feature by outcome signals, strength, and consistency across sectors and institution levels. Implementation conditions and limits are listed to show where effects hold and where risks appear. Entries reflect framework synthesis and directed content analysis, supported by structured extraction and rule based grading. Results guide prioritisation for policy, program, and student outcomes, while noting mixed employer and system effects. The table is self-contained and links findings to actionable levers without statistical pooling here.

• RQ1: Governance designs and program features associated with effective implementation

Evidence from 2021 to 2025 indicates that type-based positioning of VET with staged school–enterprise cooperation anchors effective delivery, since it supplies clear reform direction and institutional scaffolding (Zhou & Xu, 2023; Xue & Li, 2022). A collaborative reform track under education authorities outperforms a top-down labour route on employer and apprentice satisfaction, although sectoral governance is still required for consistent quality (Zhang, 2021). Six governance themes recur across the corpus: modern TVET architecture, school-based provision, competency-oriented curricula, student incentives, employer incentives, and workplace training, which together describe a coherent policy logic for apprenticeship (Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024). Policy efforts on digitisation and standardisation strengthen coordination where funding and staffing are adequate, yet resource gaps remain (Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Regional mapping shows uneven institutional distribution, which constrains scale and equity (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022). Post-2019 pilots link apprenticeship to industry–education integration agendas associated with Made in China 2025, supported by district–college models (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021; Mo & Mao, 2021; Qi & Chen, 2024).

On the program side, four features associate most consistently with stronger implementation: alternation of work and study, real production tasks, enterprise mentors, and dual-qualified teachers (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021; Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023). These require mentor training, alternation fidelity, and employer capacity to translate policy into practice. Knowledge and quality tools reinforce fidelity when used pragmatically: SECI-informed mentoring structures, motivation appraisal with ANN, grounded quality models, and embedded management systems (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021; Ji & Li, 2021; Lu & Wang, 2023; Chen, 2024). Trade-offs persist. Project-based governance can create homogeneity and Matthew effects, while firm cost control can narrow curricula that students wish to keep transferable (Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023; Müller, 2024; Hao & Pilz, 2021). Cooperation networks reduce mismatch yet rarely curb turnover, which limits productivity stability and signals a remaining design challenge (Müller, 2024).

• RQ2: Reported student, employer, and system outcomes, and remaining gaps

Student outcomes are positive where designs show fidelity. Studies report higher engagement, retention, confidence, and competence under hands-on and work-based models, including gains in teacher preparation and mathematical decision making with cognitive apprenticeship and video support (Lei & Panicker, 2025; Suyitno, Kamin, Jatmoko, Nurtanto, & Sunjayanto, 2022; Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023; Zhao & Ko, 2024). Progression signals are favourable. Apprentices are more likely to graduate on time and to access higher education compared with non-apprentices, while a community college degree apprenticeship records a 66 percent completion rate and perceived job-readiness gains (de Amesti & Claro, 2021; Voeller, 2022). Internships in Zhejiang improve innovative thinking, communication, problem solving, value creation, responsibility, and employer attractiveness. Earn-and-learn pathways ease financial barriers, and integrated learning builds social capital for future choices (Chen & Gan, 2021; Decker, 2021; Xu & Stahl, 2025). Sector exemplars in manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, and clothing show alignment when enterprises participate (Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023).

Employer and system effects are mixed. Cooperation networks reduce skill mismatch, yet turnover control remains weak, which limits stable productivity gains (Müller, 2024). System reviews cite teacher shortages, separation of schools and enterprises, and digital resource issues despite progress on integration and standardisation (Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024; Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024). Equity gaps endure. Vocational graduates face wage penalties and greater precariousness, while social preference for general high schools depresses attractiveness; proposals on craftsmanship cultivation and entrance examination reform target these barriers (Wang & Wang, 2023; Hao & Pilz, 2021; Wang, 2024; Yang & Chia, 2023; Ke, 2025). Stakeholder evidence highlights enabling conditions: coordination mechanisms, institutional support, safety assurances, guidance quality, policy backing, mentor development, and association roles, alongside concerns about working conditions and compensation (Wang, Abdullah, Isa, & Wu, 2025). Regional concentration and institutional imbalance remain visible gaps for scale and fairness (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022).

RECOMMENDATION

Policy and governance priorities

• Consolidate collaborative governance where employer and apprentice satisfaction is higher. Establish sectoral councils with clear standards to stabilise quality (Zhang, 2021).
• Standardise cooperation stages under a type-based VET frame so roles and accountability are clear across regions (Zhou & Xu, 2023; Xue & Li, 2022).
• Implement the six governance themes that link competency curricula, incentives, and workplace training to delivery strength (Chen, Schmidtke, & Jin, 2024).
• Resource digitisation and standardisation with dedicated funding and staffing plans. Avoid unfunded mandates (Yu, Yan, & Jin, 2024).
• Use project-based governance with safeguards to prevent homogeneity and Matthew effects. Pair projects with capacity building and open selection rules (Li, Zheng, & Xiong, 2023).
• Address regional concentration through coordination platforms and targeted support to lagging institutions (Deng, Zheng, Yu, Shi, & Han, 2022; Yuan & Wang, 2021).
• Promote craftsmanship culture and reform entrance examinations toward craft aligned and fair selection (Ke, 2025; Yang & Chia, 2023).

Program and teaching design priorities

• Institutionalise alternation of work and study, embed real production tasks, and invest in enterprise mentors and dual qualified teachers (Chen, Li, Zheng, Huang, & Shi, 2021; Sun & Cui, 2021; Cheng & Wee, 2023).
• Formalise knowledge conversion routines on site using SECI informed guidance to stabilise learning (Dai, Hu, Shan, & Liu, 2021).
• Expand teacher workplace learning with enterprises to tighten curriculum to practice links (Zhao & Ko, 2024).
• Deploy cognitive apprenticeship and hands on learning in priority courses where achievement and engagement gains are documented, including teacher preparation (Oktaviyanthi & Lestari, 2023; Suyitno, Kamin, Jatmoko, Nurtanto, & Sunjayanto, 2022; Lei & Panicker, 2025).
• Use motivation appraisal and quality models to monitor participation and recognise performance at program and institution levels (Ji & Li, 2021; Lu & Wang, 2023; Chen, 2024).
• Broaden transferable skills to protect student preference and mitigate turnover risks that narrow tracks do not solve (Müller, 2024; Hao & Pilz, 2021).

Student outcomes and equity priorities

• Scale designs that support on time graduation, higher education access, and job readiness; use degree apprenticeship and internship models as templates for pathways (de Amesti & Claro, 2021; Voeller, 2022; Chen & Gan, 2021).
• Expand earn and learn to lower financial barriers and support participation at scale (Decker, 2021).
• Lift willingness and behaviour through planning education that strengthens perceived benefits, external conditions, and certification pathways (Zhang & Song, 2024).
• Target labour literacy deficits and subjective career risks with training, mentoring, and planning supports in high-risk programs (Wu, Duan, & Luo, 2024; Wang, Ye, Lee, & Miao, 2022).
• Address stigma, earnings gaps, and precariousness with better conditions and credible compensation signals. Pair with outreach where awareness and integration are weak (Wang & Wang, 2023; Chukwu & Gades, 2024; Fan, Zheng, Ebonite, De Asis, & Juanatas, 2024)

Table 3: Critical, prioritised implementation map

Table 3 translates the synthesis into an implementation map. It groups priorities by policy and governance, program and teaching, and student outcomes and equity. Each row specifies the action, the evidence base, expected metrics, minimum conditions, key risks with mitigations, and the primary lead. Items reflect graded evidence from 2021 to 2025 and favour designs with proven fidelity. The table supports sequencing and budgeting, since near term steps sit beside longer horizon reforms. It is intended for ministries, provincial bureaus, colleges, and firms seeking practical guidance. Use it to align local plans with sector standards and to monitor delivery.

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