Sixty students from Dazhou, Sichuan province started their campus life at a vocational school on Oct 11 in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province.

Most of the students came from poor households in Dazhou. They are the second wave of students to come to the school to attend various courses in hotel management, computer technology and preschool education as part of a vocational education program.

According to local authorities, the program, which is supported by the Zhoushan municipal government, aims to improve access to education in Dazhou by allowing students to take part in a one-year vocational education program in Zhoushan after they complete two years of schooling in Dazhou.

The project can not only help students from poor households find jobs and get rid of poverty, but also alleviate the labor shortage in Zhoushan, said Wang Jianfeng, an official from the Zhoushan human resources and social security bureau.

Out of the first group of 30 students to take part in the program, 15 have found jobs in Zhoushan.

Li Zengwei, headmaster of the vocational school, said that the school will help the students improve their skills in order to become more employable.

Zhoushan has a good environment and hospitable residents, which are very attractive to the students, said Xiang Shouping, a Dazhou native and current participant in the program.

In recent years, Zhoushan has been dedicated to assisting Dazhou in improving its education. On Oct 110, 11 teachers from the city arrived in Dazhou and started a one-month volunteer teaching program.