Shumin Yu, Li Liu, Jieyu Huang

Shumin Yu

March 31, 2026

Vocational education, New quality productive forces, High-quality development, ERG theory, Social capital theory, Guangdong Vocational Education City

Drawing upon ERG Theory and Social Capital Theory, this study examines 10 higher vocational colleges in Guangdong Vocational Education City (GVEC) to explore the practical dilemmas and optimization paths of vocational education in empowering regional New Quality Productive Forces. Through a combination of questionnaires, interviews, and statistical data analysis, the research identifies several critical issues: a low local employment rate among graduates in Qingyuan, a misalignment between academic programs and Qingyuan’s “Eight Major Industry Clusters,” and the superficiality of industry-education integration. The study reveals the internal mechanism by which vocational education empowers New Quality Productive Forces through talent supply, technical synergy, and engagement of all parties involved. From the collaborative perspective of “Exogenous Support” and “Endogenous Development,” this paper proposes a four-dimensional collaborative framework encompassing “Industry-Education-Policy-City.” It suggests specific implementation paths -- such as dynamic adjustment of majors, deepening industry-education integration, and optimizing the “youth ecosystem” -- to enhance the adaptability and contribution of vocational education to regional high-quality development, providing a reference for similar regions.

© 2026, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license