Positive environment

The central government has stepped up to secure jobs and stabilize the employment market through a slew of measures to create a favorable environment for graduates looking for work.

For example, to retain existing jobs, all measures to boost employment will be backed by a large injection of funds.

The funds can be used by primary-level authorities to implement tax and fee cuts, and to subsidize rents or interest payments to support companies.

The government is also helping to finance skills-training initiatives by businesses to stabilize employment.

In Shanghai, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual businesses were exempted from three kinds of social insurance－pensions, unemployment and work injury－from February until the end of last month.

In addition, companies or individuals affected by the pandemic are permitted to pay social insurance fees they owe within three months of the conclusion of the pandemic without incurring a penalty.

The city has also taken measures to help graduates find jobs.

According to Ni Minjing, deputy director of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, more than 10 online job fairs have been held for college graduates since March, offering more than 230,000 posts at 23,000 companies.

The municipality has also stimulated employment in the field of teaching by offering 5,800 positions at kindergartens and primary and secondary schools, as well as 5,000 jobs for talented people in the arts and sports sectors.

Universities are exploring new types of job fairs, too.

Shanghai Jiao Tong University joined hands with companies to build an online recruitment platform, and it has compiled files to offer guidance to students looking for jobs.

Tutors are also finding new ways to help students.

Liu Jian, a tutor at the School of Germanic Studies at SISU, has released short videos about job-hunting strategies for students via his accounts on social networking sites WeChat and Douyin.

"I hope to ease their anxieties," he said.

Given the efforts at all levels nationwide, there's a bright spot: Ni suggested graduates should have confidence in employment opportunities in the city and seek work proactively, not just wait or observe.

Ni urged graduates to set realistic job expectations. Statistics from an online job fair system show that the number of positions on offer at several online events exceeded the number of resumes received.

"I also encourage graduates to apply for front-line positions where they can contribute to community governance, instead of simply focusing on management positions," he said.

Wei Shanchun, deputy director of the student careers center at SJTU, said students majoring in subjects that are essential to the country's development, such as mathematics and computer science, are in high demand.

However, he expressed concern about next year's batch of graduates, who will face many uncertainties in the job market.

"The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak is limited to the 2020 cohort, who landed work during the job-seeking season last autumn," he said.

"Students set to graduate next year should ensure they are fully prepared in advance."