China’s technical schools offer both hope and despair for jobless university graduates

China’s technical schools offer hope to desperate university graduates who cannot find a job – but for many, the reality falls short of the promise. As China’s university graduates face mounting job market pressures, a growing number are turning to an unconventional lifeline: vocational training schools. The phenomenon, colloquially known as “returning to the furnace”, sees degree-holders enrolling in technical programmes to acquire practical, employable skills. The trend is gaining measurable...