Research on the Reform of Cultivating Interdisciplinary Industrial Talent at Haikou Vocational Colleges Under Internationalization Competence Requirements: A Case Study of Customs-Related Operations

Abstract

The full-scale implementation of the Hainan Free Trade Port island-wide customs clearance system has leveraged the unique "First-Line Liberalization, Second-Line Management" customs supervision model to reshape a comprehensive open industrial ecosystem. The broadening of visa-free access for fifty-nine countries, the free flow of cross-regional goods, capital, and personnel, and deepened economic and trade cooperation with ASEAN have generated a substantial number of interdisciplinary industrial positions requiring four key international competencies: understanding of international rules, bilingual cross-cultural communication skills, practical transnational industrial expertise, and Free Trade Port compliance management capabilities. As the northern gateway hub of the Free Trade Port, Haikou hosts core industrial clusters—including cross-regional logistics, international cultural and tourism services, digital transnational trade, bonded processing, and offshore modern service industries—resulting in steadily growing demand for vocational education graduates possessing internationally oriented, interdisciplinary competencies. Currently, talent development systems at vocational institutions across Haikou face structural challenges: ambiguous international orientation, insufficient "Language + Industry" interdisciplinary curricula, limited transnational practical training platforms, inadequate reserves of internationally competent dual-qualified instructors, weak collaborative education mechanisms, and a lack of dynamic alignment between talent cultivation and evolving globalized industrial demands. This study uses four representative vocational institutions in Haikou as research samples and integrates theoretical frameworks—including Learning Theory, Outcome-Based Education Theory, Industrial Cluster Theory, and International Human Capital Theory—with field survey data collected from enterprises within the Haikou Port Authority Group, Fuxingcheng International Digital Port, Binlang Valley International Cultural and Tourism Zone, and the Comprehensive Bonded Zone. It defines four-tiered core international competencies for industrial professionals under the Free Trade Port customs closure policy and systematically analyzes six major existing challenges and their underlying drivers. Through six key dimensions—redefining international talent development objectives, implementing modular curriculum reform based on the "Language + Industry + Compliance" framework, establishing a transnational real-world training system, nurturing dual-qualified international teaching faculty, creating diversified international industry–education collaboration mechanisms, and dynamically adjusting strategies driven by industry needs—the study proposes a systematic pathway for cultivating interdisciplinary industrial talent tailored to the customs closure environment. Complemented by four supporting safeguard mechanisms—policies, funding, international cooperation, and diversified evaluation systems—the study provides theoretical insights and actionable implementation strategies to support vocational institutions in deepening their international education reforms and nurturing interdisciplinary technical and skilled professionals suited to an open economy.