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Home » Opinion » Chinese Views
When getting a degree won't get you a job
By Miao Miao and Ding Yimin |
January 13, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FINDING jobs for college graduates is a big problem, and getting bigger in China.
It's tough for the 6.1 million June graduates after the country began to feel the effects of the global financial crisis in late 2008. And there will be another 5-6 million this year.
Compounding the problem are around 1.5 million graduates who failed to find jobs last year, a half million increase from 2007, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).
Why can't they find jobs and how can China solve this problem? Three experts believe they have the answers.
In the mid-1980s, China's college enrollment rate stood at about 3 percent, lower than that of many developing countries. In the early 1990s, the number rose to 5 percent.
Around 1999, the country's education department understood the need to expand the college enrollment rate, said Lu Hanlong, director of Society and Development Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"Part of the reason for this was a baby boom in the early 1980s. That's when China's 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976) ended and many young people went back to cities, got married and had children," Lu said.
"Around 1999, it was time for the new generation to go to college. As a result, the grand expansion policy began," Lu said.
The central government employed many measures to expand college enrollment. It built more schools, hired more professors and offered more scholarships to poor students.
As a result, in 1999, universities enrolled 1.59 million students, up 41.2 percent from the previous year. Since then, the numbers just kept climbing.
In 2002, the college enrollment rate reached 15 percent. It rose to 19 percent in 2005. With 23 million students going to college, China had the highest enrollment rate in the world at the time.
Lu said "the expansion policy was helpful for improving the nation's quality." However, so many students seeking higher education all at once had negative effects as well.
"The grand college enrollment plan is one of the main reasons for the current unemployment issue," said Zhou Haiwang, deputy director with Population and Development Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"Although the number of jobs increased in recent years as China's economy boomed, too many graduates coming out at one time created a great pressure for the job market," Zhou said.
Supply not only outweighed demand, many employers questioned the type of education this boom of college graduates received.
"Many companies do not trust new graduates, who may have learned 'mountains of' theories but lack practical abilities," said Wang Yi, associate researcher of Shanghai Public Administration and Human Resources Studies. "Thus many employers would prefer graduates from some higher vocational technical schools rather than college students."
In 2006, many local governments began trying to solve the unemployment problem, by enacting a plan that gave graduates work experience and training.
The local government does the contact work and convinces enterprises to provide internship positions for graduates for about half a year.
During that time, the government gives interns a small living allowance every month. After the internship ends, the enterprise may offer jobs to outstanding interns.
For example, in 2006 in Fujian Province, 58 enterprises offered internships to more than 6,000 graduates. Around 50 percent of them ended up getting hired.
This year another 62 companies will join the program, according to a report from Guang Ming Daily on Wednesday.
It's tough for the 6.1 million June graduates after the country began to feel the effects of the global financial crisis in late 2008. And there will be another 5-6 million this year.
Compounding the problem are around 1.5 million graduates who failed to find jobs last year, a half million increase from 2007, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS).
Why can't they find jobs and how can China solve this problem? Three experts believe they have the answers.
In the mid-1980s, China's college enrollment rate stood at about 3 percent, lower than that of many developing countries. In the early 1990s, the number rose to 5 percent.
Around 1999, the country's education department understood the need to expand the college enrollment rate, said Lu Hanlong, director of Society and Development Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"Part of the reason for this was a baby boom in the early 1980s. That's when China's 'cultural revolution' (1966-1976) ended and many young people went back to cities, got married and had children," Lu said.
"Around 1999, it was time for the new generation to go to college. As a result, the grand expansion policy began," Lu said.
The central government employed many measures to expand college enrollment. It built more schools, hired more professors and offered more scholarships to poor students.
As a result, in 1999, universities enrolled 1.59 million students, up 41.2 percent from the previous year. Since then, the numbers just kept climbing.
In 2002, the college enrollment rate reached 15 percent. It rose to 19 percent in 2005. With 23 million students going to college, China had the highest enrollment rate in the world at the time.
Lu said "the expansion policy was helpful for improving the nation's quality." However, so many students seeking higher education all at once had negative effects as well.
"The grand college enrollment plan is one of the main reasons for the current unemployment issue," said Zhou Haiwang, deputy director with Population and Development Studies of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
"Although the number of jobs increased in recent years as China's economy boomed, too many graduates coming out at one time created a great pressure for the job market," Zhou said.
Supply not only outweighed demand, many employers questioned the type of education this boom of college graduates received.
"Many companies do not trust new graduates, who may have learned 'mountains of' theories but lack practical abilities," said Wang Yi, associate researcher of Shanghai Public Administration and Human Resources Studies. "Thus many employers would prefer graduates from some higher vocational technical schools rather than college students."
In 2006, many local governments began trying to solve the unemployment problem, by enacting a plan that gave graduates work experience and training.
The local government does the contact work and convinces enterprises to provide internship positions for graduates for about half a year.
During that time, the government gives interns a small living allowance every month. After the internship ends, the enterprise may offer jobs to outstanding interns.
For example, in 2006 in Fujian Province, 58 enterprises offered internships to more than 6,000 graduates. Around 50 percent of them ended up getting hired.
This year another 62 companies will join the program, according to a report from Guang Ming Daily on Wednesday.
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