For the first time, Shanghai has officially put forward the concept of "gray-collar workers," which refers to technicians with a high-level of creativity and professional skills, in order to encourage more young people to take up these neglected positions.

Twenty-five occupations with 15,000 job positions - such as digital-controlled machine operator and fashion designer - are included in the first batch of "gray collars," mainly in the digital manufacturing industry, the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau announced yesterday.

Unlike either white collars like management professionals or blue-collar operation workers, gray collar is a new class of workers with a high educational background and strong practicing ability, officials said.

It is a distinct group and not a transitory class between the white and blue, officials stressed.

"The concept was put forward in accordance with Shanghai's position as the world's center of digital manufacturing industry, as well as to help solve unemployment among locals, especially youth," said Zhu Junyi, the bureau director.

According to Zhu, some 40 percent of the unemployed in the city are young people who failed to find a steady job after their graduation, which is the second biggest jobless group after middle-aged laid-off workers.

Though an increasing number of local university graduates face great job pressure, many posts, especially those for skilled technicians, are still vacant.

"Most university graduates hope to become white collar workers after graduation, which means there is a big crowd for management positions. But demand for gray collar positions is much larger than the current supply," Zhu said.

In this regard, the Shanghai Career Training and Guidance Center will launch a series of professional training courses for locals who will become gray collars

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