Ethiopia and China share a common educational agenda of cultivating and developing competent vocational graduates who meet the needs of the modern, technologically advanced industrial workplace. Unlike most of the literature, the present study adopted the self-determination theory to understand student learning motivation in the context of higher vocational education and training (VET) colleges in Ethiopia and China to reveal students’ satisfaction with psychological needs that are leveraged in building vocational professional development and identities. Ten senior higher VET students from each setting were recruited and participated in semistructured interviews. The study’s main finding affirms that although both groups felt they had the autonomy to choose the vocational field they sought to master, their learning process was subjected to traditional teaching methods, which ultimately restrained the participants’ feelings of competence because they trained in a less practical training space. Based on the study findings, we propose feasible policies and practical implications for meeting the motivational needs of VET students and promoting learning stability. © 2025 National Institute of Education, Singapore.
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