College graduate ponders her future employment prospects

Yang Yansui, Director of the Employment and Social Security Research Center at Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management, believes that the unbalanced structure of China's economy is also a major reason for the employment difficulties facing college graduates. The economic imbalance has resulted in structural unemployment, with a shortage of technical workers and an oversupply of candidates with college diplomas.

"Our company has suffered from a shortage of technical workers even when the business climate is in poor condition," said Zhang Jing, Chief of the Human Resource Department at Hanwan Manufacturing Co. Ltd. About 80 percent of the employees in this Hebei-based manufacturer of electronic devices were technical workers.

Restructuring the economy

The fact that college graduates aren't meeting the demands of China's economy has urged the nation to restructure its economy to absorb more of its well-educated workforce. "The primary and secondary industries have limited capacities for employment as technological advances will decrease the demand for workers. In contrast, the service sector is much more capable of absorbing a large number of workers with higher education," Yang said, suggesting that the nation's service sector be promoted as the country undergoes economic transformation.

Experts have also pointed out that China's universities are churning out law and accounting majors, while accounting and law firms don't need large numbers of staff. "I think universities should set up courses according to the actual demands of the economy's structure," said Xiong.

Starting a self-owned business is another possible career option for new graduates. "New businesses not only provide employment for the founder, but also offer opportunities to others," said Li Jiahua, Deputy Director of the Commission for Entrepreneur Education in Higher Education Institutes under China's Ministry of Education, noting that an entrepreneur who starts their own business creates 3.8 jobs on average.

Su Songxing, an expert on education, suggested that universities should emphasize entrepreneurial thinking and education to cultivate students' entrepreneurial abilities. "Universities can work together to provide information and advice on starting businesses, like preferential policies on taxation and loans, government subsidies and procedures for registering a business," he said.

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