Creating a sustainable vocational education ecosystem from the perspective of enterprise perceptions

Creating a sustainable vocational ecosystem is vital for updating the modern technology-supported industry, whereas the attractiveness of vocational education is decreasing globally. Exploring factors that may foster the motivation of enterprises would benefit the whole educational environment. Drawing on 221 samples from 17 provinces in China, this study constructed a macro-micro framework to examine the enterprise perspective on building a vocational education ecosystem. The analysis was guided by the triple helix theory at the macro level and the theory of planned behavior at the micro level, and addressed the relationships of enterprise perceived benefits for VET, obstacles enterprises perceived in the enterprise-education collaboration, government incentives, and enterprise motivation to engage in VET, by conducting structural equation modeling. Results indicated that the four-variable mediation model applied to the VET context was soundly accepted. Three direct relationships and five indirect relationships were identified as significant in this model. Enterprise perceived benefits to VET directly affected their motivations for participating in collaborative training activities, and this relationship was indirectly affected by obstacles and government incentives. The important role of government was amplified in this research, for its functions of establishing targeted financial and policy subsidies to motivate enterprises and build a sustainable VET ecosystem. It was implemented that designing from the top-level planning for VET bases from geographic distribution, establishing inclusive and targeted incentive policies, building a dynamic incentive system, and enhancing enterprises’ VET perceptions would be strong driving forces in enterprise-education synergies in vocational education. Establishing a dynamic collaboration ecosystem to facilitate the transition of knowledge from classroom to workplace would be applicable to school-based VET models and structures that strive for intimate enterprise collaboration.