Programs help city's jobless

Xiao Fang recently landed a job as a Metro station attendant with help from a program from the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

The program aims to find work for 8,000 people per year who are under 35 and have been unemployed for more than one year. So far, it has benefited over 4,000 people this year.

Xiao was supported in his job search by Lu Haiping, a government-employed career tutor in Huangpu District.

“I encouraged him to send out resumes and attend interviews regularly ... and discussed his performance at each interview afterward,” said Lu. “And when he had enough tries, he performed well and got employed.”

The Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau has also launched a separate program to improve the employability of young people, especially college students.

It has organized vocational training camps, provided lectures and tutorials on job-hunting skills, as well as simulations and practical work. The program has trained nearly 20,000 people since it was launched in May 2017.

A further program started last year has helped over 5,200 people, more than half being graduates of local universities and vocational schools, find internships at enterprises.