Job seekers cry out for career help

By Fei Lai  |   2008-12-9  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

SHANGHAI'S jobless are in need of career guidance, according to a survey released yesterday.

Over the past four months, Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau talked to about 6,000 people, including job seekers, unemployed rural workers and graduates from universities and colleges and asked them what help they needed from the city's labor departments.

Top of the list were job referrals and vocational training. More than half of the unemployed in local communities wanted labor departments to recommend jobs to them, while 20.31 percent wanted training.

Many also wanted help arranging internships and to be given lessons on employment law.

The survey said 55.1 percent of respondents in local communities were looking for jobs, 20.41 percent already had job offers, and 14.29 percent wanted to carry on studying. Just over 4 percent were looking to start businesses of their own.

Lack of practical experience was said to be the biggest obstacle for graduates seeking jobs. About 42 percent said it was hard to find a job. Others said it was hard to find a position that made use of the subject they'd studied at university, or they lacked a social network to help them find work.

Sexual discrimination and discrimination based on what part of China they were from were also cited as problems.

When asked about what they wanted most from employment guidance lessons, 32.35 percent of graduates said they wanted to be taught the best tactics for applying for jobs and interview technique. The same number said they wanted help planning their careers.

The survey said graduates hoped the city government would put more emphasis on holding job fairs at universities and colleges, plus publicizing information about graduates, publishing analysis on the graduate job market and conducting surveys about students' job intentions.