Statistics from China’s Ministry of Education show that 11.79 million students are expected to graduate from Chinese colleges and universities in 2024, an increase of 210,000 compared to 2023. This comes at a time when China is facing widespread bankruptcies and layoffs. The Ministry of Education held a meeting with the Ministries of Human Resources and Social Security on December 5th to discuss employment preparations for the record number of graduates.
The Ministry of Education called for an “Action Plan” to promote graduate employment through various measures. It stated that colleges need to equip specialized employment staff, develop market-based employment channels, and continue efforts for college leaders to visit companies to create job opportunities. Other initiatives include expanding the “Ten Thousand Enterprises on Campus Plan” to provide graduates access to more high-quality job information.
On December 5th the Ministry released guidelines with 26 initiatives asking all Chinese universities to make graduate employment a top priority. The notice stressed the challenging economic climate and need for creative solutions to prevent employment difficulties among the high number of graduates. It outlined specific strategies for colleges to realize this goal. These included job fairs, entrepreneurship support, vocational guidance, and tracking graduate employment outcomes.
Source: Radio Free Asia, December 5, 2023
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