When Angel Lau Yin-wai left school in 2008, she didn't join the other students in the scramble for a university place. She opted instead for a higher diploma programme in entertainment technology at the Institute of Vocational Education.

Lau loved the theatre and knew her future lay in the field. In Form Three she was already seeking out technicians at the Tai Po Civic Centre to learn more about stage management. Her school used its auditorium for many activities, and she seized the chance to find out what the crew's work involved and how to join the profession. She also picked up practical tips about lighting and projection, and operating the sound system.

So after completing Form Five, she didn't hesitate: "I didn't want to study Form Six at all because I wanted to get technical training in stage management as early as possible."

Few of the students receiving their Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education results will make choices like Angel's. Since the education reforms of 2009, school leavers have forsaken vocational training in the hope of securing a degree qualification, either directly or indirectly through associate degree courses.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to secure more comfortable, better-paying jobs. The problem is that most wind up in general programmes that don't necessarily meet employers' needs, recruitment experts and vocational educators say.

Writes Elaine Yau for South China Morning Post.