New Professions, New Opportunities

The 21st century is seeing the fastest economic and social development in human history, and naturally, fast development means the emergence of new professions to match social needs. In July, China’s human resources authority gave official recognition to nine new professions to keep pace with China’s economic and social development. These professions include blockchain engineering technician, online marketer, information security tester, online learning consultant and community health assistant, among others.

This means these professions will be encouraged amid great demand in China. This is the third time China has added new professions to its occupation list since 2015. The government recognition can ensure the healthy development of these professions.

Thanks to the fast development of Internet technology, livestream broadcasts have become a very effective way of marketing. Online marketers have been active in China for a couple of years, with many Internet celebrities and influencers promoting a variety of products online, and have created huge social value. Statistics show that livestream marketing has reached more than 800 million netizens in China and the number of online marketers is growing by 8.8 percent month on month. It is therefore no surprise that online marketing has become one of the most popular sales tools in China.

In addition to these new professions, in recent years, many novel jobs that target niche markets are also growing rapidly, such as garbage sorter, pet photographer, Escape Room game designer, computer game consultant and pet caretaker. Undoubtedly, these new jobs have greatly expanded the scope of employment channels and injected new impetus into social development. To sum up, the emergence of new professions actually reflects social needs, as any service or sale of products needed by society can be developed into a profession.

The emergence of new professions has also helped ease China’s employment pressure by providing more opportunities for job seekers. This summer, a total of 8.74 million university graduates entered the job market, placing more pressure on the already strained employment situation due to COVID-19. Thanks to the new professions, job seekers have got more options.

However, it needs to be remembered that these new professions call for improvement in education and training. To better tap into the potential of so many youths in China, related majors should be set up in colleges so as to provide professional education and training that matches the service and product needs of society.

New professions imply new vitality, and new industries bring new hope. With the increasingly stronger impetus of technological development, more new professions will continue to emerge and social development will continue to flourish. CA