In the middle of April, the Wuhan government organized a special meeting on employment, vowing to keep at least 250,000 college graduates working in the city. Sun Zhijun, deputy director of the Wuhan Talent Introduction Bureau, told NewsChina that it is the minimum number, which means that the city will create 250,000 jobs this year.
On April 16, Wuhan released a directive to address youth unemployment following the coronavirus, in which the government encouraged enterprises to expand recruitment and provided concrete measures to attract college graduates to work at the grassroots level. Each residential community has been directed to recruit one or two college graduates in the upcoming two years.
Sun Zhijun told our reporter that there will be more jobs available at government agencies and public institutions in Wuhan and more than 1,100 public servants will be recruited this year. In 2019, around 200 public servants were hired in the city. In addition, the healthcare and education sectors will offer more positions. State-owned enterprises in Wuhan are required to provide at least 60 percent of vacancies to new college graduates, offering them 1,500 to 2,000 positions this year.
The Wuhan government also announced it would provide 14,000 yuan (US$1,995) to each new graduate as a subsidy if they get a job in the city. Wuhan Talent Introduction Bureau told our reporter that the total subsidies amounted to 1.5 billion yuan (US$21m).
According to Wuhan Talent Introduction Bureau, by the end of June, Wuhan organized more than 100 online job fairs and 1,780 enterprises have provided over 100,000 positions. More than 66,000 positions offered a salary package of over 5,000 yuan (US$713) a month. At least 81,500 online applications were made and nearly 15,150 students have signed a contract.
Sun Zhijun said it will be difficult to find jobs for 250,000 college graduates in Wuhan, but he is confident of reaching the goal. Over the years, the automobile industry and optoelctric information, coupled with biological medicine and medical equipment, have been the city’s pillar industries and they will continue to provide many vacancies for graduates.
Data shows that most college graduates in Wuhan major in science and engineering subjects, and these pillar industries will play a crucial role in stabilizing youth employment. Sun told our reporter that as one of the centers of the automobile industry in China, related sectors will generate a large number of vacancies for graduates following the gradual resumption of work and production.
In the Wuhan Economy and Technology Development Zone, Dongfeng Honda and other automobile manufacturing enterprises have fully resumed operations, which has driven the production capacity of over 500 auto parts suppliers. Chen Xuesong, deputy HR director at Dongfeng Honda, said the company has offered nearly 400 positions to new graduates this spring.
The Optics Valley of China in Wuhan is the country’s largest optoelectronic information industrial base, home to many leading enterprises in the sector. TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology has invested 16 billion yuan (US$2.3b) in Wuhan to construct China’s first six-generation LTPS (an advanced LCD screen) display panel assembly line.
The company’s HR manager Chen Jiena told our reporter that roughly 1,000 graduates will be hired this year, equaling that of the previous year.