Chinese v-cs told to visit companies to boost graduate employment

China’s education authorities have told universities to take action to help their students find employment in an increasingly tough jobs market as the number of graduates is expected to hit 10 million for the first time.

As part of a special campaign launched by China’s Ministry of Education, senior leaders of higher education institutions across the country – including university Communist Party chiefs, vice-chancellors and deans – are required to visit companies in person in an effort to improve job opportunities for their graduates.

Leaders of newer universities are subject to tougher rules and have been told that they must visit at least 100 potential employers by August “in principle”, the ministry said.

The ministry also announced that an upgraded national platform for promoting graduate job opportunities has listed more than 3.8 million vacancies. Other employment services, including online job fairs, are available on the platform.

It is estimated that the number of graduates this year will hit 10 million for the first time, reaching about 10.76 million, and pressure to stand out in a crowded labour market has helped to push an unprecedented number of Chinese students to consider postgraduate study.

A joint official notice from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has announced an upcoming two-phase campaign to encourage graduates to seek positions in small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Media talks about ‘the toughest job market’ almost every year,” Wu Keming, associate professor in Hunan Normal University’s School of Educational Science, told Times Higher Education.

But slower economic growth resulting from trade conflict with the US and the Covid pandemic has made this year’s situation worse, he added. “As China’s economy has entered the phase of ‘new normal’, it comes with slower growth but a focus on development with higher quality,” Dr Wu said.

“Due to the expansion of the higher education system, there has been an excess of supply over demand…which is the direct cause of the tough graduate jobs market,” he continued.

The unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 24 stood at 15.3 per cent in February, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. A ministry spokesman told China’s national media that “the overall unemployment rate of university graduates still stood at a relatively high level”.

“Young people in China with a degree are better positioned for the labour market than their peers without a degree,” said Ewan Wright, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education and Human Development at the Education University of Hong Kong. “However, it is often the students from the top universities, studying in-demand majors…who have accumulated professional work experience [who] are best positioned to get ahead.

“Unfortunately, first-generation, rural and low-income students at lower-tier institutions are most vulnerable to being locked out of the competition,” Dr Wright continued. “These are the students that universities and employers need to reach out to with support as they represent a pool of potentially untapped talent.”

karen.liu@timeshighereducation.com