Beyond employability: unpacking China’s national-strategic model of work-integrated learning

Purpose This paper aims to examine China’s distinctive work-integrated learning (WIL) model through conceptual theory building, comparing it with Western and Asian counterparts to identify its unique institutional features. Design/methodology/approach The study develops an integrated macro-meso-micro analytical framework synthesising skill formation regime theory, institutional logics, and symbiosis theory. Drawing on government policy document and institutional case reviews, with Modern Industry Colleges (MIC) and Colleges of Future Technologies (CFT) as illustrative exemplars, the framework conceptualises the broader industry-education integration infrastructure that incubates and sustains WIL. Findings China’s WIL model – characterised by state-directed coordination, platform-based organizations (MIC and CFT), and policy-dominant institutional logic – constitutes a “national strategic” type, fundamentally diverging from Western employability-focused approaches. The institutionalisation of hybrid organizations that integrate multiple functions under joint governance structures represents a significant organisational innovation. Originality/value This paper provides a systematic comparative analysis of China’s WIL through a novel multi-level framework, contributing to the diversification of WIL scholarship beyond Western-centric perspectives and offering a new typological category for understanding state-orchestrated WIL models.