CRNTT:

The scale of China's college graduates continues to expand, reaching a record high again in 2023. How will you promote the employment of college graduates and other young people? Thank you.

Wang Xiaoping:

I would like to thank the reporter from Hong Kong for their interest in the employment of mainland college graduates. I would like to ask my colleague, Mr. Yu Jiadong, to give you an introduction.

Yu Jiadong:

College graduates are an invaluable human resources for any country. The CPC Central Committee and the State Council have always attached great importance to the employment of college graduates, introduced a series of policies and measures, and held special meetings every year to promote their implementation. Various regions, relevant departments and aspects of society have done a lot of work. As you said, the number of college graduates will reach 11.58 million in 2023. The task of promoting employment has become even more onerous. We will insist on placing the promotion of youth employment, especially for college graduates, in a more prominent position, as well as introduce stronger policies, expand positions, improve services, help those most in need, and work with relevant departments to do a good job. The focus is on four areas:

First, we will strengthen our efforts to expand channels. We will further improve the policies for supporting employment and entrepreneurship among graduates, launch special actions to provide policy services, expedite policy delivery, stabilize and expand recruitment in state-owned enterprises, stabilize recruitment at public institutions and grassroots projects, encourage graduates to seek employment in micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) as well as at the community level in urban and rural areas, and support independent entrepreneurship and flexible employment for graduates. At the same time, we will guide localities in adjusting and optimizing the scheduling of examinations including professional qualification examinations, to leave graduates more time to find jobs.

Second, we will strengthen our efforts to promote employment opportunities. We will continue to promote public employment services on campus, offering graduates job information, guidance, training, entrepreneurial support and other services. At the same time, we will launch a series of special service activities called "Vocation Leads to the Future," mobilize industry associations, social organizations and well-known enterprises to participate extensively, combine online and offline and push job opportunities on a large scale. We will launch more industry-specific recruitment to provide graduates with ample job information.

Third, we will strengthen internship training. We will continue to implement the plan to offer 1 million high-quality internship positions, launch a number of national internship demonstration units to improve the practical ability of graduates. In response to the career development needs of graduates, we will actively organize skills training, improve the quality of training, expand training for new occupations, and support graduates in attaining skilled employment.

Fourth, we will try to assist and support those in need. For graduates seeking employment, we will provide information in advance, keep records of our assistance and support work, smoothen various channels for help, and track graduates based on real-name-based services. Additionally, we will beef up support to graduates from families living in poverty, families living on subsistence allowance, zero-employment families, and those facing other difficulties such as disabilities by offering them services and job recommendations. We will promptly integrate unemployed young people into employment and unemployment management services. We will also strengthen guidance and category-based assistance for people who are long-term unemployed to help them better enter the job market. 

In a nutshell, we will work tirelessly to help college graduates and other young people find steady employment. Thank you.