From barbecuing, making spicy snail noodles and improving the professional skills of delivery riders, China's vocational colleges are undergoing major changes to meet new job demands.

The niche study areas highlight a major overhaul of the world's largest vocational training system to better align employees' skills with the requirements of industry and local economies.

Xu Shuai, 25, is one of those planning to improve his job skills and future employability. For two years, he worked in the restaurant industry in Changsha, Hunan province, focusing on marketing and building his customer base.

But his career soon hit a ceiling. "Without control over the product itself, growth is hard to sustain," he said.

To close that gap, Xu plans to enroll in Yueyang Barbecue College later this year. What draws him to the college is not just mastering grilling, but the promise of comprehensive training — from supply chain management and cost control to branding and customer experience.

"This is more than teaching students how to grill," said Qiao Binbin, secretary-general of the Yueyang Barbecue Association, one of the major operators of this college. "We aim to train students to understand the entire business ecosystem."

In Yueyang, the barbecue industry is a pillar of the local economy with more than 2,000 outlets and an annual output exceeding 2 billion yuan ($293.4 million), data from the association showed.

Jiang Zongfu, vice-president of Yueyang Open University, said the college was jointly initiated in July 2025 by the university, the local barbecue association, and industry partners. Choosing the barbecue sector was deliberate: it not only anchors the city's nighttime economy and tourism, but also has an urgent need for improved professionalism.

"Many practitioners want to expand beyond Hunan, even overseas," Jiang said. "But to do that, they need to transform hands-on experience into systematic knowledge to move from ordinary workers to professionals."

Prospective students range from job seekers and freelance workers to employees sponsored by barbecue businesses across China. Most of them are newcomers to the industry.

The college combines academic study with hands-on training, offering both degree-linked programs and short-term technical courses. The curriculum goes beyond grilling to cover business operations, from cost control and food safety to marketing, with a strong focus on preparing students for employment or entrepreneurship, he said.

Across China, a growing number of specialty vocational institutions have emerged in response to both local businesses' needs and national policy guidance. They include a crayfish industry college in Qianjiang, Hubei province, a spicy noodle college in Yibin, Sichuan province, and a luosifen, or spicy snail noodles, college in Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. More niche examples, such as teaching institutions focused on bathing services or food delivery, have also materialized.

China's first "rider academy" — officially the Modern Grassroots Workers Academy — was launched at Guangzhou Polytechnic University in Guangdong province in December. Designed to support the professionalization of delivery workers, it offers training in areas such as food safety and basic skills, while also preparing riders for career advancement into logistics management and emerging technology-related positions.