Peking University, March 31, 2021: Chen Anqi's life in the ivory tower is coming to an end. She should be graduating from the MBA Program at Peking University in June and she's busy hunting for a job. But it's far more difficult than she expected.
CHEN ANQI 2022 Graduate Peking University "I never thought job-seeking could be so hard. I applied to over 40 positions in different companies but I haven't had any good offers. There are very few vacancies in any firms, especially marketing jobs that I'm looking for."
She's not alone.
The online recruitment company Zhaopin.com says there were four and a half percent fewer jobs available just after the Chinese New Year than the same period last year. That's the prime time for graduating students to apply for jobs. And there were double the number of applicants per job.
In an uncertain job market, Chen is thinking of other alternatives. She has gravitating towards the idea of being self-employed content provider, an area where she can make use of her talent and professional skills honed during undergraduate studies at the Beijing Film Academy.
CHEN ANQI 2022 Graduate Peking University "I'm good at telling stories, so I tried uploading self-directed vlogs on Bilibili, and to my surprise, one of my videos got thousands of views, that encouraged me to go further along the path of starting my own business as a content-provider."
And there are government programs to help.
ZHENG CHUNYING Beijing "The Ministry of Education says China is likely to see a record number of about 11 million students graduate by June. This adds to the challenges the market is already facing due to COVID-19. In the face of a tighter job market, the country is offering special help to young entrepreneurs. Some provinces such as Zhejiang are extending generous loans to support graduates starting their own businesses. But with limited resources and scant work experience, is entrepreneurship a viable path for the graduates?"
I took that question to Professor Huang Tao, Deputy Director at the center for innovation and entrepreneurship at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management. He says despite the challenges facing fresh graduates, they have an opportunity to embark on a path of entrepreneurship.
HUANG TAO Deputy Director, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Guanghua School of Management, Peking University "With the transformation of China's economy, there is huge market potential in the fast-growing service sector, where younger generations are more attuned to than older people. Fresh graduates are more energetic, and they are more likely to come up with niche ideas, that's why many capitalists have shown great interest in many of my graduates' start-up projects."
And in other attempts to curb unemployment, Chinese authorities are planning to make one million internships available in the public sector for those still unemployed after graduation.
However, Professor Huang says that while measures like this could relieve some of the market pressures in the short run, much more is needed to be done in the long run.
HUANG TAO Deputy Director, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Guanghua School of Management, Peking University "The key to solving the unemployment problem is to boost development of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the country's main source of jobs. Only when the enterprises get more support to recover, will more jobs be available for graduates."
And that is on the government's agenda. China's State Council announced earlier this month that the country will provide nearly one trillion yuan in tax rebates to small businesses.
With government's support, hopefully more employment opportunities will be available for graduates like Chen Anqi.
She says, whether she starts a business on her own, or sweats it out on the corporate ladder, there will be a bright future ahead as long as she never gives up working hard. ZCY, CGTN, BEIJING.
