Chinese college graduates urgently need training that is tailored to real job vacancies in the marketplace to increase their chances of finding a job and raise their working ability, said an expert in Beijing on Monday.

 

Wu Min, director of the Adult Education Society of the Chinese Ministry of Education, said that more and more graduates are choosing occupational training before hunting for jobs. But the fast-growing occupational training industry has no standards and is developing in an uncontrolled manner.

 

"To improve the situation, we will seek feedback from Chinese college students," Wu said.

 

Over a period of five months, students' impressions and experiences of occupational training organizations -- their on-campus exhibitions, their marketing and their courses -- will be compiled and analyzed, Wu said.

 

Wu cited the example of a young man graduating from the maths department of a prestigious university who submitted more than 300 resumes but received no reply. He then took a three-month software testing course, and on the strength of that was able to join Huawei Co., one of China's leading computer companies.

 

"Occupational training can help bridge the gap between academic knowledge and market demand," Wu emphasized.

 

Statistics show that China now has 23,470 non-governmental occupational training agencies which boast more than 8 million enrollments per year. Nearly one fourth of the course participants are college students.

 

In recent years, Chinese graduates have faced great difficulty in finding jobs, as the government has opened the nation's universities to more and more students.

 

Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that 1.08 million students graduated from Chinese colleges in 1998, but the number rocketed to 4.13 million in 2006. The number is expected to jump to 4.95 million this year.

 

The huge number of graduates has created new employment pressures. The nearly 5 million college graduates this year will compete with other social groups for a total of 9 million jobs.

 

(Xinhua News Agency June 12, 2007)