Transformation of the logic of talent training and reconstruction of pathways for industry-education integration in vocational education in the era of artificial intelligence

Abstract

The rapid development of artificial intelligence technologies is reshaping the global labour market and the employment sphere. The traditional logic of industry-education integration in vocational education, focused mainly on matching the requirements of specific jobs, is facing new challenges. Drawing on skill formation theory, this article examines how artificial intelligence changes the demand structure for skills, weakens the sufficiency of narrowly specialised operational training and increases the importance of social and emotional competencies. The study shows that, as intelligent machines and algorithmic systems displace routine cognitive and operational skills, the key competitive advantage of workers shifts from narrow technical qualifications towards social and emotional competence in complex situations. At the same time, the existing system of industry-education integration remains largely constrained by the path dependence of specialised training, which produces a mismatch between the supply of skills and the actual demand of workplaces. The paper argues that the reconstruction of industry-education integration should move from simple job matching towards the systematic development of social and emotional competence through curriculum design, work-based learning spaces, process-oriented assessment and multi-actor institutional cooperation, thereby strengthening the capacity of vocational education to adapt to industrial transformation and to changing demand for qualified personnel.