Four national standards governing the development and operation of Luban Workshops were announced at the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Vocational and Technical Education Development Conference in Tianjin, north China, on October 17. Proposed by China's Ministry of Education and published by Standards Press of China, the standards will take effect on April 1, 2027.

Luban Workshops are overseas vocational education programs jointly established by Chinese and foreign institutions, often in partnership with companies. They provide formal education and skills training.

The standards set out general requirements for the construction of Luban Workshops, implementation requirements for teaching engineering practice and innovation projects, requirements for teaching equipment, and guidelines for operational quality assessment.

They call for Chinese and overseas educational institutions and participating companies to work together in developing courses and practical training. Chinese institutions will be responsible for curriculum design and theoretical content, while overseas partners will assess local needs and cultural considerations. Companies will contribute real-world project cases.

The standards also call for regular training for overseas teachers and require that engineering practice projects be practical and innovative.

Teaching equipment should reflect the level of technology used in China's advanced industries while matching the partner country's industrial development and capacity to support the equipment. Operational quality is to be assessed on a three-year cycle.

China has established 38 workshops in 32 countries, offering more than 100 specialties. They have enrolled 30,000 students in formal programs and provided training on a cumulative basis to 160,000 participants.

The announcement comes as the Luban Workshop initiative marks its 10th anniversary. The first overseas workshop was established in Thailand by a Tianjin vocational college a decade ago.

Since then, China has expanded vocational education cooperation to more than 500 projects in over 80 countries and regions. As China's international influence in vocational education continues to grow, it is ready to share more of its practices, solutions and experience with other countries, so that more nations can benefit.