CityU Macau ITTC Spearheads Career Sustainability Initiatives to Tackle Declining Birth Rates

The Graduate School, School of Education, and the International Training and Testing Center (ITTC) at the City University of Macau recently co-hosted a seminar titled "Challenges and Opportunities for Macau Education in the Era of Declining Birth Rates." University leadership and academic scholars gathered to discuss the profound impacts of demographic shifts on local education and outline innovative response strategies.

Embracing Structural Renewal and Holistic Learning

University leadership noted that declining birth rates have brought unprecedented operational and staffing pressures to early and basic education sectors. However, this crisis serves as a crucial turning point for Macau's education system to pivot toward high-quality, intensive development. To transform these pressures into growth engines, educational institutions are urged to look beyond traditional school-aged cohorts and expand their services into professional training and lifelong learning for elderly demographics, moving from "serving students" to "serving the public."

Furthermore, the university advocated for strategic institutional mergers and collaborations to eliminate inefficient, small-scale models. Higher education must also align closely with national development plans and Macao’s "1+4" appropriate economic diversification strategy, leveraging the resource and policy advantages of the Guangdong-Macau In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin to secure long-term sustainability.

Addressing Skills Mismatch via Reskilling

Dean the School of Education highlighted the importance of "reskilling" to counter demographic declines. Instead of relying solely on traditional students, higher education institutions should target the vast market of working professionals. Currently, a skills mismatch exists where tech professionals lack educational application knowledge, and teachers are unfamiliar with smart education infrastructure. By offering flexible formats such as evening courses, universities can help working professionals transition into the smart education sector, effectively filling enrollment gaps while supporting the city's digital transformation.