Social organizations urged to help grads get better jobs

China has urged social organizations to create more internships or job openings for college graduates in order for them to get higher-quality employment.

A recent notice by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Education, which was made public recently, encouraged social organizations to create more grassroots internship positions or job openings in education, healthcare, technology, culture, social assistance and elderly and children nursing.

It asked social organizations to get their members involved in employment programs organized by the Education Ministry and tighten their cooperation with universities or colleges to help improve the students' professional competence in the job market.

Also, industry associations, institutes and research centers can deepen cooperation and communication with education bureaus to help the government analyze market needs and offer job-seeking or entrepreneurial consultancy services to the students.

The notice said that social organizations can play a more important role in assisting college graduates who find it difficult to land jobs due to their poor financial situations, by providing them access to employment consultancy, job recommendations and internship opportunities.

Social organizations focusing on occupational education are encouraged to build up training bases with vocational colleges or schools and organize skills training programs in elderly nursing, children care and domestic services. The organizations can also offer dispute mediation and legal aid services to graduates and improve their legal literacy through promotional programs.

According to the notice, social organizations are encouraged to join job fairs and publish hiring information at recruitment portals and platforms to let youths get better knowledge of the organizations and land jobs.

The notice has also urged local authorities to offer supportive policies and financial incentives to social organizations. Social organizations who hire fresh graduates, graduates yet to land jobs two years after graduating, or jobless youths aged between 16 and 24 and sign standard labor contracts and pay them social insurance for over three months, can enjoy the same one-time financial subsidies from the government as companies do. This amounts to roughly 1,500 yuan ($210) for each employee.