Graduates queue for a job
The economic crisis has dashed the hopes of six million Chinese students who left university this year Link.
More than 6 million Chinese students left university this year and up to a quarter are still struggling to find work.
The ministry of education warned, ‘The grim economic situation poses an unprecedented challenge for college graduates to get a proper job.’
But the problems predate the crisis and mark both a success and failure on China’s part. ‘The number of graduates increased too quickly – by 2006 there were already five times more than in 1999. The labour market can’t take that big an increase in such a short time,’ said Professor Yang Dongping of the Beijing Institute of Technology, the author of a report on graduate employment.
The expansion of higher education reflects China’s aspirations: the world’s factory needs more skilled workers to move up the chain, away from cheap mass production. Yet there are not yet enough higher-end jobs.
Four million graduates in recent years have yet to find their first job, according to officials. However, the true figure is probably higher as the current system relies on reporting by universities, who have a vested interest in showing that graduates can find work.
More HERE.
Source: The Guardian UK