From the perspective of vocational education, who will make up for the deviation of the "interface" between e-commerce talents and enterprise needs, and who will make up for the
"live broadcast with goods" national competition attracts "cold" thinking about talent training
"The sun is in the air, the anchor smiles at you, the snack festival is coming soon, let's choose good things together!" Looking at the live broadcast frame and mobile phone, Lu Manyu calmed down his nervous mood after 00 and sang a song adapted from "The Sun in the Sky" "" nursery rhyme, saying hello to the camera while talking and smiling.
"The shape of the egg yolk cake is very cute. It is sprinkled with a layer of black sesame seeds. It smells delicious. I will taste it first. The first bite is crispy and crispy, the second bite is soft and waxy, and the third bite is salty and fragrant. !" In the next 10 minutes, she proficiently introduced the origin, flavors, ingredients, promotional prices and other information of snacks such as egg yolk cakes and chocolates, and she would guide her attention and thank you words and confessions, as well as problems with the barrage that floated on the screen. To interact.
This scene took place at the 2021 National Vocational College Skills Competition (Higher Vocational Group) E-Commerce Skills-Live Marketing Module Competition (hereinafter referred to as the National Competition). The contestants faced the "audience", "commodity" and "barrage". ”And other elements are all set virtually by the system.
Recently, the national competition was launched in Anhui Vocational and Technical College of Commerce, 32 teams of 128 players competed in three modules: online store opening and decoration, online store operation promotion, and online store live marketing. Each team consisted of 4 players.
In the end, the teams from Guangxi Vocational and Technical College, Xiangyang Vocational and Technical College, and Anhui Vocational and Technical College won the first prize.
In front of and behind the scenes of a high-level competition, it not only presents the students' skill level and the school's talent training results, but to a certain extent reflects the urgent needs and high requirements of the society for e-commerce talents.
In recent years, terms such as rural e-commerce and live broadcast e-commerce have gradually become "hot". As the source of talent training, how should vocational schools make efforts, what are the difficulties in talent training, and how to solve the problem?
A reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily conducted an interview.
"Live streaming with goods" debut in the examination room triggers new thinking on talent training
In the competition, what impressed Professor Wang Shuqing, the chief referee and the leader of the e-commerce major of Hebei Energy Vocational and Technical College, was that the players had strong hands-on ability.
"They are eager to use the platform of the competition to gain recognition from the society and experts."
The "test questions" of the contest are for contestants to create, decorate, and operate online stores in a virtual system, including art design work such as copywriting, posters, and typesetting.
In the live marketing module of the online store, the players will get a copy of the product-related materials. The players should be familiar with and prepare within two hours, and use any 10 minutes of the time to broadcast live to the camera.
The online store operation module on the last day is the highlight, and it is also a "tug-of-war".
In short, all participating teams are in the same "market". Players study and judge real-time changing market data to adjust the store’s purchase volume, price strategy, group purchase promotions, and pay employees’ wages and pay taxes on time. Achieve high sales volume and high profit within time.
"Our team’s price strategy is moderate in the early stage. In the later stage, the main focus is low prices. The sprint is back. The game process is very tense and exciting. I am mainly responsible for the live broadcast in the team. This is a big challenge. In the first half of the game, the instructor took us with us. Practice.” said Lu Manyu from Anhui Vocational College of Business and Commerce majoring in e-commerce.
She recalled that when she first spoke to the camera, she couldn't find the feeling. In order to meet the requirements, the teacher would find some small commodities such as pens, let the students conduct simulated sales exercises, and "cheer words" for every sentence spoken. "To adjust.
One major change in this competition is the replacement of the previous "Online Store Customer Service" competitions with "Web Live Marketing".
Wang Shuqing said, “In recent years, live streaming has been very popular, which is in line with the current development trend of e-commerce. Based on the strong application characteristics of the competition itself, the organizing committee has decided to add live broadcast projects.”
"The game is not just'selling goods' in a simple sense. Online store operation and promotion is to test the players' market analysis and marketing capabilities. Live marketing is to test the players' overall planning and on-the-spot reaction." Wang Shuqing said, in affirming the live broadcast. While promoting the role of sales, we must also realize that this is just a marketing tool.
To learn live broadcast skills, it is not enough to be able to speak well. The premise is to have a solid e-commerce thinking, planning and operation, data analysis and other comprehensive capabilities.
"This competition competes with the industry’s more cutting-edge and advanced knowledge and operating concepts. Its far-reaching significance is that through the competition, students can find the gap between their own abilities and the talents required by the industry and enterprises, so that higher vocational colleges can discover teaching The short version that exists in the Chinese Academy of Sciences sets a clear vane for schools to train highly-needed skilled talents in the industry," she said.
Who will make up for the "interface" deviation between e-commerce talents and enterprise needs
"Some contestants said that they have a good grasp of theoretical knowledge or individual professional courses in school, but their performance in the competition is mediocre." Wang Shuqing emphasized that the original intention of the competition is not only to test a specific professional skill, but also to improve students' comprehensive ability. , To help them find and solve problems with the entrepreneur’s thinking and overall vision, and force the school’s talent training model to keep pace with the times.
The reporter learned that the professional category corresponding to e-commerce skills is e-commerce.
Since 2000, domestic vocational colleges have opened this major one after another to meet the growing demand for talents in the e-commerce industry.
"However, many companies cannot recruit suitable people, and students report that they cannot find a satisfactory unit. There is always a situation where the'interface' between schools and enterprises in the job market is not right." Over the years, Wang Shuqing has observed that students After entering the enterprise, sometimes I feel that the theory and skills reserves are not enough, which will cause a psychological gap.
"In the final analysis, it is because some theories in the textbooks are outdated, and some teachers just immersed themselves in reading books and doing research, and failed to look up in time to see the new development of e-commerce development."
Wang Shuqing said that taking the skill of live broadcasting as an example, students have no social experience during school, are not familiar with enterprise products, and are confused about the choice of live broadcasting products and product quality assurance.
However, schools can only cultivate basic knowledge, skills, and accomplishments in accordance with the requirements of vocational positions, which is still far from the requirements of enterprises.
"In layman's terms, if you want to build a popular Internet celebrity head anchor, you will definitely not be able to rely on schools alone. Corporate packaging and practical exercises are indispensable."
A "Investigation Report on the Status of E-commerce Talents in China in 2020" shows that in terms of suggestions for e-commerce talent training in colleges and universities, 78.57% are recommended to strengthen practical teaching links, and 56.12% are recommended to strengthen students' professional quality education.
This shows that there is a certain disconnect between the talent abilities cultivated by higher vocational colleges in the e-commerce major and the market demand.
"The competition for talent in the e-commerce industry is becoming increasingly fierce. The outstanding talents cultivated by a company are likely to be poached by peers." Wang Shuqing said frankly that companies need to pay trial and error costs and time to train students, so it is better to recruit ready-made talents. The talents can get started when they come.
"Slow typing speed, weak ability to withstand stress, insufficient knowledge of job skills, difficulty persisting in high-intensity work... These are all problems for graduates, and some problems take months to'fix'." Graduated from Anhui. Luo Zhongqing, who majored in e-commerce at the Business Vocational and Technical College, also knows this.
She is currently a senior manager of the customer service team of Three Squirrels Co., Ltd., saying that, in addition to the skills necessary for the job, companies now assess the comprehensive ability of students during the recruitment process.
Taking e-commerce customer service positions as an example, not only requires good communication and negotiation skills, but also requires knowledge of logistics, aesthetic design, marketing management, and the ability to quickly solve problems.
"For example, if there is a sudden power failure or network disconnection, students have to come up with solutions instead of immediately seeking help from their supervisors."
"E-commerce involves comprehensive professional knowledge such as logistics, sales, art, data analysis, etc., which is reflected in every aspect of the competition. Therefore, students must grow into compound talents. In the future, they will encounter more detailed tasks in the enterprise. Have stronger adaptability." Xia Mingshou, Dean of the Electronic Commerce College of Anhui Vocational College of Business and Commerce, said that in recent years, universities have carried out teaching reforms and promoted the concept of "professional groups" dedicated to creating comprehensive e-commerce talents.
Take this school as an example. The e-commerce "professional group" takes e-commerce as the main body, combines logistics management, marketing, chain management and other majors to reconstruct the curriculum system, and cooperates with many e-commerce companies to build an "industry college".
In the "professional group" training program, both higher vocational general education courses are set up, and the "integration of science and practice" professional courses are set up around specific training directions, and at the same time, cross-selected extended courses for various majors are set up.
"Therefore, schools and enterprises must be deeply integrated. In this process, the integration of cultural spirit is also very important." In Xia Mingshou's view, compound talents not only know how to make one product plan, one artwork layout, and one In the marketing system, we must also master the connotation and professional ethics behind each product.
Government, enterprises, schools and schools can work together to solve the problem
After interviewing a number of teachers, the reporter found that, in the training of schools, the concept of comprehensive and compound talent training has been integrated to the greatest extent, but how to further "honor" comprehensive talents that are needed by the enterprise and welcomed by the market?
We need to work together to solve the problem.
"Teachers can't just teach in class, but they have to bring students to get in touch with industries and industries." Wang Shuqing remembers that every autumn, the local ceramics fair will be held. She will take advantage of this opportunity to carry out a lively "teaching practice".
During the expo, she and other teachers will take students to find ceramic suppliers, and ask students to carry a large basket and personally select products to "purchase", and to purchase slightly defective ceramic products that do not affect their use.
Later, the students will refine the selling points of the goods themselves, and freely combine "product packages" to sell them online at low prices.
The live commentary script, product pricing, free shipping or cash on delivery are all explored by students based on what they have learned.
She found that after several sales and publicity practices, students reported that they are more familiar with e-commerce product selection and live broadcast skills, and their skills are also more proficient.
Wang Shuqing also called for strengthening the role of teachers as a bridge between schools and enterprises.
"Although some entrepreneurs are experienced, it is difficult for them to express their practical experience in the language of instruction." She said that school teachers should use easy-to-understand instruction language to transform the practical experience of e-commerce to promote students' digestion and understanding.
Xia Mingshou also affirmed the importance of close school-enterprise cooperation.
"We have established long-term cooperative relations with leading national e-commerce companies, implemented the'student training, teacher mutual employment' mechanism, set up teacher workstations in the enterprise, and both sides jointly researched horizontal topics."
In recent years, the school has cooperated with three squirrels to establish the Squirrel New Business School, which jointly trains 60 students every year, and jointly develops a talent training plan to reserve middle and high-level talents for the enterprise.
At the same time, both schools and enterprises have developed 15 high-quality teaching materials and 5 sets of skill manuals for new retail based on typical tasks in the new retail field.
Strive to achieve a win-win cooperation between industry, academia and research to improve technical skills and talent training.
During the interview, some experts said that e-commerce companies are not deeply involved in the talent training chain, and they only do a "one-shot deal" with schools.
Xia Mingshou urged that companies should not contact schools when recruitment demand is high, and ignore communication with schools when recruitment demand is off-season. They must establish long-term and in-depth cooperation with schools and make long-term talent reserve plans.
"In addition, some students may think that e-commerce is very fashionable, so they choose this major. Schools and enterprises must work together to guide students to find points of interest, and clarify goals and positioning as soon as possible."
Therefore, every year at the time nodes of e-commerce promotion such as "6.18" and "11.11", the teachers of the school will go to e-commerce companies to accompany the intern students to witness the "explosive orders" and other moments, and to cope with the subsequent occurrences. challenge.
This is an unforgettable experience for many students, and it directly strengthens their professional ideals.
Xia Mingshou said that the support and investment of local governments in the development of the e-commerce industry is obvious to all, including the construction of a live broadcast talent industrial park and a cross-border e-commerce free trade pilot zone.
"It is necessary to further build a platform with the participation of governments, enterprises, industry associations, and schools to promote the integration of e-commerce teaching and agricultural knowledge, cross-border e-commerce knowledge, and live broadcast operation technology, and carry out innovation and entrepreneurship competitions, skills practice competitions, and accurate solutions. The problem of talent gap in the industry."
"In-depth integration of universities and enterprises is one of the ways to solve the pain points." Wang Shuqing called on industry associations to also play an organizational role, and jointly formulate talent training goals with enterprises, schools, and the government to build a stage for students to better train in line with market needs High-quality skilled e-commerce talents, serving social and economic development.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Wang Haihan and Wang Lei, intern Wang Tao Source: China Youth Daily