Source:

03-10-2006 17:21

Once upon a time, a university diploma guaranteed a good job in China. But in recent years, the millions of graduates streaming out of China's universities and colleges have discovered that finding a good job is a real challenge. And this year's four-million-plus new university graduates, will only increase the intense competition.

Braving the freezing cold, eager job-seekers queue up for one of the country's largest job fairs for graduates at the Beijing International Exhibition Center in late February. Winter temperatures haven't chilled enthusiasm for job fairs.

Like thousands of other job hunters, Miss Wang and her friend, post-graduates from Beijing, got up early today and rushed to the fair, in the hope of landing a satisfying job.

Job hunter said: "It's the fourth job fair I've been attended recently, and I have found that it is very hard to get a decent job. We are post graduates, but it's even harder for us to find employment, because our majors are very specific."

He said: "I've sent more than one hundred resumes, both online and at job fairs. But till now only three to four of them have even invited me for an interview, and I don't think they will hire me, because I don't have any working experience."

More than 60 thousand graduates have packed out this two-day fair, vying for 20 thousand positions from about one thousand companies. Just one hour after the opening of the fair, some companies have received a flood of resumes. And the organizer said he sees a steady climb in visitor numbers each year.

Gao Yuhang, from Beijing HR Information Center, said: "We've held ten years' of job fairs, and now we hold two fairs a year. The past several years witnessed a great surge in the number of visitors. Certainly in the graduate market, supply greatly exceeds demand."

Statistics show that the employment rate for university graduates reached about 70% since 2001, when the "university enrollment boom" began. The number of graduates tripled from 1.1 million in 2001 to 3.4 million last year, and the number of unemployed graduates surged from more than 300 thousand to nearly 800 thousand last year.

Another big reason for the employment challenges is that the education system tends to produce candidates with similar skill sets which does not meet the needs of the job market.

Experts predict that job-hunting pressure in China will continue to grow this year, but the graduates seem to be more realistic about their employment prospects. And the government is taking more concrete measures to provide more job opportunities by developing all types of businesses.

 

Editor:Wang Ping