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The Dynamic Adaptability of Vocational Bachelor's Degree Graduates in the Context of Industrial Upgrading in the Greater Bay Area: Structural Dimensions, Formation Mechanisms, and Development Pathways

Author(s)

Hong Shao, Ting Dai*, Xiaoqi Zhong, Muge Zhang

Affiliation(s)

School of Financial Technology and Accounting, Guangdong University of Science and Technology, Dongguan 523083, Guangdong Province, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Industrial upgrading has changed the job task structure and competency requirements in the Greater Bay Area, and has also confronted vocational undergraduate education with a structural tension between the "rapid pace of industrial change" and the "long cultivation cycle". Existing studies have mostly approached the issue from static job matching or job-seeking outcomes, making it difficult to explain how individuals "relearn" new work amid continuous industrial change. This paper proposes the concept of "dynamic adaptive capacity", that is, the capacity of individuals to perceive changes, update knowledge, and transfer and apply learning outcomes to new tasks so as to maintain occupational competence. It structures this capacity into five progressive dimensions—change perception, continuous learning, knowledge transfer, complex problem solving, and reflective innovation—constructs its formation mechanism at the three levels of the individual, the institution and industry, and further proposes a cultivation pathway anchored in the competency structure together with a closed-loop improvement mechanism. The study argues that vocational undergraduate cultivation should shift from "job-competent individuals" to "change-adaptable individuals", so as to alleviate the structural mismatch between programme provision and industrial demand. The above structure and mechanism constitute a theoretical construction and still require empirical testing.

Keywords

Vocational Undergraduate Education; Dynamic Adaptive Capacity; Competency Structure; Formation Mechanism; Greater Bay Area

References

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