In the freshman class of 2024 at the Civil Affairs Vocational University, Chen Xuetong from Jinhua, Zhejiang, ranked first with a score of 601 in the college entrance examination. She chose to study in the funeral service profession at this year’s newly upgraded vocational undergraduate college — the first professional undergraduate major in the funeral industry in mainland China. It has been reported that there is a huge gap in talent in the funeral industry in mainland China.
“Good employment opportunities” were the main reason why Chen Xuetong chose the funeral service profession. After some online research, she and her family unanimously believed that the employment prospects in the funeral service profession are broad. Ultimately, she chose this newly established vocational undergraduate college located in Beijing.
In June of this year, Beijing Social Administration Vocational College established the Civil Affairs Vocational University, and opened 5 vocational undergraduate majors including Modern Funeral Management, marking the formal establishment of China’s first undergraduate major in the funeral field. The Civil Affairs Vocational University admitted a total of 150 students for the funeral service profession undergraduate program this year, with the admission scores for the funeral service major being 20 to 30 points higher than other majors.
Topics such as “What do you study in the funeral service profession,” “New students in the funeral service profession say they are not afraid,” and “The first funeral service professional undergraduate major in the country” have successively surged on hot search.
For a long time, the lack of professional talents has been a common bottleneck problem faced by the funeral service industry.
According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the CCP’s “2023 Civil Affairs Development Statistics Bulletin,” as of the end of 2023, there were a total of 4,605 funeral service institutions in China, with 1,788 funeral homes, 782 funeral management institutions, and 1,837 public cemeteries managed by civil affairs departments. There were 91,000 employees in funeral service institutions, including 48,000 in funeral homes, and 7,713 cremators.
As of January of this year, out of 1,547 secondary vocational schools nationwide, only 9 cultivate talents for the funeral service industry.
As a directly affiliated institution of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Civil Affairs Vocational University had conducted relevant surveys nationwide, where the majority of funeral service units indicated that they “lack relevant professional talents.”
“Why did the girl with 601 points in the college entrance examination choose the funeral service profession” made it to the hot search list on December 23. This sparked widespread discussions among netizens.
“186*****319”: Just think about when the epidemic broke out, three boilers in the funeral homes broke down, while others were closed at home, but they were working overtime.
“Dushui08”: Looking at the current aging trend in China, the future lies in the elderly care and funeral service industries.
“Baidu netizen e194b12”: There is no more stable profession than this.