A report indicating that one in 11 college graduates has been jobless for a year has raised public concern and caused heated discussion among the country's Internet community.

A report indicating that one in 11 college graduates has been jobless for a year has raised public concern and caused heated discussion among the country's Internet community.[File photo]

In a blog, Xiong Bingqi, vice president of the 21st Century Education Research Center, quoted a "2012 Graduate Employment Report," which showed that 570,000 of 6.8 million college graduates in 2011 remained jobless one year after graduation.

Among them, more than 100,000 neither go to school or work nor receive vocational skills and rely on support from their parents. This is known as the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) group.

Xiong blamed university education for not preparing students for China's fast-developing society and high demanding employers.

The lack of career planning and aimless job searching are two reasons why many college graduates cannot get work, with many more developing a job-hopping habit, he said.

The educationist's blog sparked debate about university education.

On the microblog Weibo.com, about 151,000 posts commenting on the topic could be found as of Tuesday afternoon.

Some back Xiong's opinion, saying there's a growing gap between what a university teaches and what employers need.

"Companies want to hire a person who can get the job done on the first day of work, but few graduates can," wrote a netizen identified by the screen name "Silver Fox."

The head of an advertising agency said he was tired of listening to job applicants and how they obtained their first-class scholarships and successfully led the student union for four years, only to find out they do not know how to send a fax.

"College graduates may know theories from books, but they don't know how to put them into everyday work," wrote "Jingjing."

Zhang Chunxia, who works for the career center of Beijing Foreign Studies University, said the facility has introduced courses on career planning and development. It has also invited alumni with established careers to deliver speeches to prepare students.

"I find those who work as university counselors and volunteer teachers, or start their own businesses are more confident than their peers as they know where their strengths lie," said Zhang.

Some Internet users said post-1980s grads are too picky about jobs.

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