LHASA - Dawa Puncog dipped a poached shrimp into salad dressing, wrapped it with fried shredded potatoes, and shaped it into a ball. The golden shrimp balls are a dish that the 18-year-old is best at cooking.

Dawa Puncog is among the 39 students majoring in cooking at Nagchu Vocational and Technical School in the city of Nagchu, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region.

Entering the school last year, he has learned how to make different kinds of dishes of Chinese and Tibetan cuisine.

"I have planned to find a chef job after graduation and open a restaurant together with three of my classmates," said the 18-year-old, from Nagchu's Lhoma township.

Through vocational training, many young Tibetan farmers and herders, who are no longer tied to the land thanks to modern farming equipment, have chosen to pursue their own interests and secure jobs with higher incomes.

Qime Lhamo, dean of the cooking department, said the department in cooperation with a training institute in Lhasa sends the students to the regional capital for two years' training.

The department was founded in 2015, and some of the first graduates now cook in railway companies or serve as instructors in other training centers.

Ding Tao, Party chief of the school, said more than 260 students of the school have taken lessons at their partner schools in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces.

"On the one hand, they and the local students can learn from each other; on the other hand, the young Tibetans can see a larger world in cities. The experience will be helpful for their growth," said Ding.

Nagchu Vocational and Technical School now has 11 majors, including husbandry, veterinary medicine, Tibetan medicine, logistics, nursing and cooking. More than 4,000 students from across the city are currently studying in the school.

To help with their employment, the school has cooperated with multiple enterprises, providing them with free workspace. The enterprises, including a restaurant and a tailor's shop, offer part-time or full-time jobs for the school's students or graduates.

Changchub Wangdu, the owner of the Tibetan cuisine restaurant, said his eatery hires five graduates from the school, including two being trained as chefs. The intern chefs are paid 4,500 yuan a month.

"For those who perform well, I will double their wages, hiring them as head cooks."

The current head chef in Changchub Wangdu's restaurant is from Lhasa, earning 12,000 yuan a month.

"The local graduates not only will help lower my hiring costs but also are more willing to stay," he said.

Baima Tsogyel, a 17-year-old freshman majoring in nursing, has learned to bandage and give injections.

"I hope I can find a nursing job in a hospital in Nagchu," she said.

Over the past three years, more than 70 percent of the school's graduates have found jobs or entered higher institutions for further study, according to He Weibo, vice president of the school.

"Some of them have started their own businesses, and secured more jobs for our graduates," He said.

According to the regional government, Tibet has more than 10 public vocational institutions, with at least one in each prefectural-level areas. Private schools and colleges are also mushrooming in the region to meet the rising demand for vocational training.

Dawa Cering, deputy head of the human resources and social security department of Tibet Autonomous Region, said the region has entered a new phase of high-quality development, with the rapid development of various industries.

"Many companies are short of skilled talent, and it is necessary to cultivate skilled personnel that meet the market demand," he said.