In the midst of massive layoffs and fierce competitions nowadays, the main function of the education in universities has been widely argued. It is acceptable to hold the opinion that vocational training should be a pressing priority for the future fob security. On the contrary, other people tend to regard higher education as an opportunity to acquire deep theoretical knowledge.
在如今发生大量裁员、就业竞争激烈的情况下，人们常讨论大学教育的主要功能。有人认为，职业培训应该是未来就业保障的当务之急，这种观点是合理的。而相反，另一些人倾向于将高等教育视为获得深奥的理论知识的机会。
The demand of vocational skills is reasonable taking the cost of tuition and fees into account. After all, graduates will enter the work force and support themselves, which is also expected to be the return on investment. Thus, the high-quality guidance on careers and the students’ employment rate can be, to some degree, the embodiment of the education and management quality of the college.
考虑到学杂费用，人们渴望获得职业技能的需求是合理的。毕竟，毕业生总要参加工作以维持生活，这也是一种投资的回报。因此，在一定程度上，高质量的就业指导和学生的就业率可以被认为是学院教育和管理质量的体现。
However, I wish to point out that if we were merely considering universities as institutions where employment skills should be acquired, we would be relatively short-sighted and irrational. The first concern is that it is unrealistic for the administrators and faculty to exactly predict the needs in the talent market in three or four years. It is a common sense that the rapidly changing era will witness the advancement of technologies and updating of occupations on a daily basis. What matters most is that the statement above will be at the risk of stifling students’ innovations, which require thorough and deep understanding of basic theories.
然而，我想指出的是，如果我们仅仅将大学视为获得就业技能的机构，那么我们就有些短视了。首先，管理者和教师要准确预测三四年后人才市场的需求是不现实的。快速变化的时代中，技术的进步和职业的更新时日新月异的，这是一个常识。最重要的是，上述说法将有可能扼杀学生的创新能力，因为创新需要学生全面深入理解基本理论。
Therefore, facing with the severe problem that the solely focus on vocational training may trigger, professors are encouraged to keep imparting related theories in order to stimulate and foster students’ everlasting creativity in core curricula, while at the same time, providing their career experience and some necessary job skills for the youth through elective courses.
因此，面对只注重职业培训的严重问题，教授们需要继续坚持在核心课程中传授相关理论，以激发和培养学生持久的创造力，同时，也可以通过选修课程为年轻人提供一些职业经验和必要的工作技能。
Date: May 22, 2022
