Shanghai universities, companies join hands to stabilize jobs in toughest employment year

Although the Omicron epidemic in Shanghai has disrupted the normal job- hunting process of college graduates, universities in Shanghai are making every attempt to match and keep graduates and their potential employers in touch, even while both are confined to their homes or compounds, in response to the toughest- ever employment environment.

The citywide “static management” in Shanghai has made it impossible for local college students to have in- person interviews with potential employers. But local colleges have managed to establish platforms for both to communicate and carry out the two- way selection.

A record- high 10.76 million graduates are about to find a job in the face of multiple pressures posed by the epidemic and structural contradictions in the China’s labor market.

The number of college graduates in Shanghai this year is expected to reach 217,000, 10,000 more than in 2021, a local authority said last December.

During the closed- loop management, the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai has coordinated multiple departments in promoting graduate employment.

The university has made full use of its alumni resources to help graduates find jobs. The alumni association has cooperated with the campus career center to hold job fairs and sponsor online lectures by elite alumni about industry information and guidance on career planning, targeting topics including the digital economy, emerging technology, government and enterprise management, biomedicine and financial consulting.

During the online job fairs held on April 14 and 15, a total of 120 companies associated with the university’s alumni offered 3,192 positions, which covered all the graduates’ and post- graduates’ majors. Over 80 percent of the companies are based in first- tier cities.

Another top university, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, has explored talent training and scientific research models by establishing internship bases through cooperation between the university and enterprises.

Being the major talent pool for traditional Chinese medicine, the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine ( TCM) held a series of online fair jobs between April 11 and 15, providing over 2,000 positions from 560 companies, including some major TCM producers.