It is impossible to pigeonhole Wu Chunmei. Why? She wears so many hats, because she plays so many roles in her career. For example, she is vice-principal of Yongchuan Taojin Occupation Technique School (in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality), president of the school's women's federation, a livestreamer and a career consultant. For 16 years, Wu has been devoted to vocational education. "My only goal is to help every woman find her shining place in the new era," Wu says.
Lending a Hand
Yongchuan, a district in Chongqing, is a hub for both modern manufacturing and vocational education. After she graduated from Taojin Occupation Technique School, in 2010, Wu accepted a teaching position with the school. Wu, who was concerned about women's career development, began thinking about ways she could help women, especially college graduates, find employment. "It's not that many are unwilling to work," she explains. "They just don't know what they can or should do. Vocational education is not only about teaching skills; it's about lighting a path."
Wu began trying to help other women by first improving her competence; for example, she completed various programs so she could obtain multiple professional certificates. She learned several skills, including how to livestream, produce videos and conduct e-commerce. "You have to keep learning. Only by mastering more skills can you truly help your students. Helping others while growing yourself, that's a truly meaningful undertaking," Wu says.
Wu has taken great joy in seeing her students succeed. Many of her students have told her, "Thank you for showing me it's never too late to start over," and, "You didn't just teach me skills, you gave me the strength to turn dreams into reality." For Wu, such feedback makes all of her hard work worthwhile. "We're not just teaching skills; we're awakening women's hidden potential. With the right tools, and a spark, every woman can shine brilliantly," Wu adds.
Digital Empowerment
To foster local economic development, and to help women graduates find jobs in the digital era, Taojin School, under the guidance of Yongchuan Women's Federation, launched the Jinguo Zhida website in March 2024. It was China's first cloud-based job center, for women college students, to match job skills, and to provide training, psychological counseling and startup-incubation services.
"It's a platform for both employment and women's personal growth," Wu explains. "We invite companies across Sichuan (also in southwest China) and Chongqing, as well as women students and other women, to register. The website is connected to the Yongchuan smart-employment-information system. It posts numerous jobs, and it provides online training, legal advice and education support to job seekers," Wu adds.
To date, the platform has hosted 6,087 registered enterprises, offered 13,000 jobs, and recorded more than two million page views. The platform has 17,685 registered users, of whom 14,148 (80 percent) are women college students. So far, 1,063 women college students have found full-time jobs, 1,866 have found part-time jobs, 98 have started businesses, and 4,223 have benefited from other services. Wu plans to replicate the "Yongchuan Model," and to expand it to other regions of China.
Developing Community
Taojin School has more than 20 years of history. Of its trainers, more than 80 percent are women. Women also account for more than 80 percent of its annual trainees. In October 2024, the school's women's federation was formally established, and Wu was elected president. She has since integrated the federation's work with the school's vocational training and rural-revitalization projects. "Previously, it was 'one person leading a group,'" Wu says. "Now, it's the federation uniting the strength of women across the region. With the establishment of the women's federation in the school, we have also improved our working methods."
Wu understands how crucial skills are for individuals, and for their families. She became a livestreamer for "Chazhu (bamboo and tea) Sisters Craft Class," so she could teach classes "in the cloud" and provide services to more people. To date, more than 100 livestreaming training sessions — to teach makeup application, making crafts, cooking and job-seeking tips — have been viewed, combined, by 800,000 people. "Chazhu represents two beautiful qualities of women, bamboo, for resilience, and tea, for elegance," Wu explains. "We hope our livestreams will help more women realize their value. But, I can't do it alone. I'm working to develop a team, so more people can join and make a real impact."
Throughout the remainder of this year, Wu plans to focus on stabilizing employment for women, by expanding online and offline training services. "We will upgrade the Jinguo Zhida website, and we will strengthen collaboration with government departments to host job fairs. Under the guidance of Yongchuan Women's Federation, we will provide more job opportunities to stay-at-home mothers, and women in flexible employment, while meeting society's need for elder care and domestic services," Wu says. "Employment is the most basic component of people's well-being. I will continue to be a dream builder 'in the cloud,' and I will help more women to shine."
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly June 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
