论文部分内容阅读
THIS year is set to be the most competitive ever for employment-seeking college graduates. Nearly seven million will pour into China’s job market， the highest number ever in the history of the People’s Republic. Like the increasingly alarming air quality， this year’s tough job market is a frequent topic and source of frustration.
The number of jobs for new hires has dropped by about 15 percent from last year， according to a survey by MyCOS， an education consultancy firm in Beijing.
Statistics also show that by early April only 35 percent of fresh graduates with bachelor degrees had landed jobs， 12 percent lower than in 2012； 26 percent of those with master’s degree were recruited， 11 percent lower than last year； and 32 percent of higher vocational education（HVE） graduates found jobs. The situation is getting worse. Shadowing these dreadful numbers is the growing employment crisis.
Decline in Jobs
“This year we are planning on recruiting 120 people，” said the human resources manager of China Automobile Industry Engineering Corporation， “last year’s number was 180.” The company’s new headcount goal is nearly 30 percent lower than last year.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics， China’s GDP registered a 7.7 percent year-on-year growth during the first three months of 2013， 0.2 percent lower than in the final quarter last year. Faced with such an economic situation， companies have to cut back their campus-recruitment plans for this year. In 2012， 77 percent had recruited fresh graduates through job fairs and other such avenues. This year， that figure is likely to be much lower.
Trade friction and industrial restructuring are also inhibiting job recruitment. Even in traditionally popular industries， companies are hiring fewer people this year.
“Recruitment in the photovoltaic industry ground to a halt last year because of the US and EU anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties on Chinese products，” a commentator from Wuhan said.“So the whole industry is facing a downturn because it relies heavily on European and American markets.”
In a normal year， enterprises would employ a large personnel， effectively creating jobs even for college graduates whose majors are not “in demand.” But this year， they are more likely to be conservative in expanding and restrictive in financing because of the shrinking economy. They tend to set higher standards for students’professional competence and credentials. A managing director from Hunan commented that today， companies prefer to hire competent people with previous work experience， which makes it even harder for fresh graduates to land a job.
After more than three decades of rapid economic development， China has become a manufacturing giant. But the current industrial structure， which is dominated by labor-intensive enterprises， is unable to accommodate the college graduates seeking work. “The status quo of our industry cannot support the employment of such vast numbers of college graduates，” said Economist Lang Xianping， “and this is exactly why it is so hard for them to find jobs.”
Lang told the press that in the whole“6+1” industrial chain model， college graduates are needed only in the “6” part， which includes product design， material procurement， ordering， logistics， wholesale dealing and retailing. Yet in the “1” part of the chain， the manufacturing sector， employees do not necessarily need a bachelor’s degree to do their job.
Ever since the government expanded the country’s higher education system in 1999， in part to stimulate a weak economy， China’s higher education has developed to a scale large enough to support the talent market in an economic transition. However， industrial restructuring is lagging far behind the development of higher education.
Du Yang， a researcher at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， believes that a more efficient shift from laborintensive industry to knowledge-intensive industry is key to solving the employment difficulties faced by college graduates.
High Expectations
When Li was admitted to a college in Beijing four years ago， his parents were pleased that he would not have to go back to his village. They hoped that their son would vault into the middle class in the big city. But now the family’s first college graduate is facing a grim job market in a country that desperately needs to employ its best and brightest.
Li has been sending out résumés to law firms since March， but to no avail. Forced to lower his expectations， he has decided to take any job paying about RMB 3，000 a month， as long as it is in Beijing. Recently， Li was invited to an interview with a website company. He says he would like to try it out.
Today， there are millions of college graduates like Li in China’s large cities. They hold high expectations for their future careers and hope for an exciting working environment， accelerated professional development and competitive remuneration. According to a recent report by 51job. com， nearly 20 percent of the companies surveyed reported a 75 percent incidence of college graduate interviewees failing to keep appointments. The fresh graduates put this down to the low pay the companies were offering. Because of inflation， RMB 2，000 per month is not as attractive for students as it might have been a couple of years ago.
Moreover， college graduates often prefer state-owned enterprises and big firms to small and private ones. A recent report from ChinaHR.com shows that 47 of the top 50 most popular employers are stateowned enterprises， the remaining three being international companies. State-owned enterprises are attractive because they offer greater benefits and provide stability. More importantly， it is easier for them to help employees register permanent residency – a very competitive deal since China has such a strict household registration system. College graduates who want to settle in big cities would rather hold back from accepting work other than that offering registered permanent residency.
With high salary expectations and working environment standards， many graduates are left waiting for better opportunities. Yet the reality of an awkward“graduation-equals-unemployment” situation has hit them hard.
In such a competitive job market， college graduates are advised to lower their expectations and take any job they can get.
Xin Changxing， vice minister of Human Resources and Social Security， thinks that college graduates should be more realistic under these circumstances. He said， “It is only rational that they first gain experience and improve their competitive edge in an ordinary job and then look for better opportunities.”
Government Measures
In recent years， employers have been setting educational and residency barriers for college graduates. Some even expressly stated in their recruitment campaigns that only students from elite universities in the“985” and “211” projects would be considered. Discrimination against educational background is， without doubt， making an already challenging employment situation much worse.
The Ministry of Education issued a statement in April forbidding employers to add discriminative clauses related to educational background and registered permanent residency to job specs at university and academic administrative department recruitments.
Ma Lin， deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government， said that the government encourages college graduates to work in local communities and will provide a “one-step” service and“green channel” for self-employed university leavers. The government will also work out preferential policies to help those who haven’t found jobs.
Meanwhile， the conscription policy has been adjusted to create more opportunities. Priority is given to college graduates applying for and getting first-hand information on recruitment. There is privileged access for college graduates to the army or to pursue post-graduate degrees.
Jinan’s Deputy Mayor Qi Jianzhong told the press that the adjustment of the army’s recruitment schedule and policy would not only introduce young talent with good education， but also alleviate employment pressure and avoid social instability.
One of the incentives is that college graduates who enlist in the army in Beijing qualify for Beijing residency after retiring from military service， as long as he or she finds an employer in Beijing. Graduates who have served for two years will get a minimum RMB 134，000 subsidy. Unsurprisingly， the release of this new policy immediately caught the attention of fresh graduates in Beijing.
The number of jobs for new hires has dropped by about 15 percent from last year， according to a survey by MyCOS， an education consultancy firm in Beijing.
Statistics also show that by early April only 35 percent of fresh graduates with bachelor degrees had landed jobs， 12 percent lower than in 2012； 26 percent of those with master’s degree were recruited， 11 percent lower than last year； and 32 percent of higher vocational education（HVE） graduates found jobs. The situation is getting worse. Shadowing these dreadful numbers is the growing employment crisis.
Decline in Jobs
“This year we are planning on recruiting 120 people，” said the human resources manager of China Automobile Industry Engineering Corporation， “last year’s number was 180.” The company’s new headcount goal is nearly 30 percent lower than last year.
According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics， China’s GDP registered a 7.7 percent year-on-year growth during the first three months of 2013， 0.2 percent lower than in the final quarter last year. Faced with such an economic situation， companies have to cut back their campus-recruitment plans for this year. In 2012， 77 percent had recruited fresh graduates through job fairs and other such avenues. This year， that figure is likely to be much lower.
Trade friction and industrial restructuring are also inhibiting job recruitment. Even in traditionally popular industries， companies are hiring fewer people this year.
“Recruitment in the photovoltaic industry ground to a halt last year because of the US and EU anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties on Chinese products，” a commentator from Wuhan said.“So the whole industry is facing a downturn because it relies heavily on European and American markets.”
In a normal year， enterprises would employ a large personnel， effectively creating jobs even for college graduates whose majors are not “in demand.” But this year， they are more likely to be conservative in expanding and restrictive in financing because of the shrinking economy. They tend to set higher standards for students’professional competence and credentials. A managing director from Hunan commented that today， companies prefer to hire competent people with previous work experience， which makes it even harder for fresh graduates to land a job.
After more than three decades of rapid economic development， China has become a manufacturing giant. But the current industrial structure， which is dominated by labor-intensive enterprises， is unable to accommodate the college graduates seeking work. “The status quo of our industry cannot support the employment of such vast numbers of college graduates，” said Economist Lang Xianping， “and this is exactly why it is so hard for them to find jobs.”
Lang told the press that in the whole“6+1” industrial chain model， college graduates are needed only in the “6” part， which includes product design， material procurement， ordering， logistics， wholesale dealing and retailing. Yet in the “1” part of the chain， the manufacturing sector， employees do not necessarily need a bachelor’s degree to do their job.
Ever since the government expanded the country’s higher education system in 1999， in part to stimulate a weak economy， China’s higher education has developed to a scale large enough to support the talent market in an economic transition. However， industrial restructuring is lagging far behind the development of higher education.
Du Yang， a researcher at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences， believes that a more efficient shift from laborintensive industry to knowledge-intensive industry is key to solving the employment difficulties faced by college graduates.
High Expectations
When Li was admitted to a college in Beijing four years ago， his parents were pleased that he would not have to go back to his village. They hoped that their son would vault into the middle class in the big city. But now the family’s first college graduate is facing a grim job market in a country that desperately needs to employ its best and brightest.
Li has been sending out résumés to law firms since March， but to no avail. Forced to lower his expectations， he has decided to take any job paying about RMB 3，000 a month， as long as it is in Beijing. Recently， Li was invited to an interview with a website company. He says he would like to try it out.
Today， there are millions of college graduates like Li in China’s large cities. They hold high expectations for their future careers and hope for an exciting working environment， accelerated professional development and competitive remuneration. According to a recent report by 51job. com， nearly 20 percent of the companies surveyed reported a 75 percent incidence of college graduate interviewees failing to keep appointments. The fresh graduates put this down to the low pay the companies were offering. Because of inflation， RMB 2，000 per month is not as attractive for students as it might have been a couple of years ago.
Moreover， college graduates often prefer state-owned enterprises and big firms to small and private ones. A recent report from ChinaHR.com shows that 47 of the top 50 most popular employers are stateowned enterprises， the remaining three being international companies. State-owned enterprises are attractive because they offer greater benefits and provide stability. More importantly， it is easier for them to help employees register permanent residency – a very competitive deal since China has such a strict household registration system. College graduates who want to settle in big cities would rather hold back from accepting work other than that offering registered permanent residency.
With high salary expectations and working environment standards， many graduates are left waiting for better opportunities. Yet the reality of an awkward“graduation-equals-unemployment” situation has hit them hard.
In such a competitive job market， college graduates are advised to lower their expectations and take any job they can get.
Xin Changxing， vice minister of Human Resources and Social Security， thinks that college graduates should be more realistic under these circumstances. He said， “It is only rational that they first gain experience and improve their competitive edge in an ordinary job and then look for better opportunities.”
Government Measures
In recent years， employers have been setting educational and residency barriers for college graduates. Some even expressly stated in their recruitment campaigns that only students from elite universities in the“985” and “211” projects would be considered. Discrimination against educational background is， without doubt， making an already challenging employment situation much worse.
The Ministry of Education issued a statement in April forbidding employers to add discriminative clauses related to educational background and registered permanent residency to job specs at university and academic administrative department recruitments.
Ma Lin， deputy secretary-general of the Beijing municipal government， said that the government encourages college graduates to work in local communities and will provide a “one-step” service and“green channel” for self-employed university leavers. The government will also work out preferential policies to help those who haven’t found jobs.
Meanwhile， the conscription policy has been adjusted to create more opportunities. Priority is given to college graduates applying for and getting first-hand information on recruitment. There is privileged access for college graduates to the army or to pursue post-graduate degrees.
Jinan’s Deputy Mayor Qi Jianzhong told the press that the adjustment of the army’s recruitment schedule and policy would not only introduce young talent with good education， but also alleviate employment pressure and avoid social instability.
One of the incentives is that college graduates who enlist in the army in Beijing qualify for Beijing residency after retiring from military service， as long as he or she finds an employer in Beijing. Graduates who have served for two years will get a minimum RMB 134，000 subsidy. Unsurprisingly， the release of this new policy immediately caught the attention of fresh graduates in Beijing.