Vocational education in China is becoming more attractive to foreign students, though there's still some work to be done that will add to its appeal and international reputation, according to educators in the field.

A total of 3,847 students from overseas studied at 69 vocational colleges on the Chinese mainland during the 2015 academic year, up almost 40 percent from the year before, a recent report found.

The report, released over the weekend by Shanghai Academy of Educational Sciences and education research company MyCOS Institute, found that the reputation of China's vocational colleges is growing.