Guangdong tackles graduates' job market challenges

Millions of college students across China are facing an increasingly competitive job market when they graduate, caused in part by a shortage of opportunities and the continued economic impact of COVID-19.

Mai Junyuan, a student soon to graduate from a high-profile university in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, is one of the lucky ones. He received a job offer from a State-owned company in early March.

"Most of my classmates are looking to go straight into work after graduation," said the electrical engineering major.

Mai and millions of soon-to-be college graduates have been looking for jobs since the beginning of this year.

In Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, about 710,000 college students will graduate this year, according to local education authorities.

In recent years there has been a growing trend of graduates postponing employment, but they still remain in the minority. In Guangdong, the number of such graduates has remained at around 50,000 each year.

New graduates are facing growing challenges in finding employment due to continued sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks that have already affected the operations of many enterprises, according to job market insiders.

Authorities in Guangdong recently issued an action plan to expand job opportunities and encourage startup businesses, aiming to ensure a stable employment situation for new graduates.

According to the plan, the province will organize more than 2,000 job recruitment activities for graduates this year and encourage more small and micro-sized enterprises to provide jobs by issuing subsidies on social insurance.

"Private and small enterprises can play a bigger role in the job market for new graduates," said Li Qiang, executive vice-president of Zhilian Recruitment, a major online job agency in China.

Government-sponsored organizations in Guangdong will provide at least 68,000 jobs for graduates this year, according to the plan.

The provincial government expects its employment rate for new graduates to reach more than 70 percent by the end of July and 90 percent by the end of 2022.

"College graduates should adjust their employment expectations and also consider jobs in manufacturing and production," Li was quoted as saying by Guangzhou Daily.

In addition to preparing for postgraduate entrance exams, graduates should also consider jobs in less-developed cities, said Li.

According to a new report, 35 percent of surveyed students would prefer to work in second- and lower-tier cities, because of their association with a less stressful and more stable lifestyle.

The report, which was based on a survey of more than 5,000 soon-to-be college graduates, was published by China Youth Daily.

"I would prefer to stay in my hometown, where traffic is not as heavy as in big cities," said Wang Yuelin, who is soon to graduate from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies.

Wang has been offered a foreign trade job in her hometown of Dongguan, a traditional manufacturing and trade hub in the Pearl River Delta region.

"Compared with the jobs I have been looking for in Guangzhou, the offer by the Dongguan company provides a relatively lower salary. But the cost of living there is also lower," she said.

According to Wang, some of her classmates are still looking for jobs, while others have been preparing for postgraduate study.

"Some are waiting out for offers that provide better salary and position," she said.

Zhao Jingyu contributed to this story.