Chinese graduates prefer self employment
More Chinese college graduates are rejecting traditional office jobs and are opting to be self-employed instead.
As the job market in China stagnates as a result of the financial crisis, many Chinese college graduates are becoming self-employed by working for themselves or starting their own business – something almost unheard of a decade ago, reports Xinhua.
In a recent survey by the Ministry of Education, about 75% of 16,000 students say they want to run their own business in the future.
The ranks of the flexible workforce are growing. Among the Shenyang Municipal Bureau of Personnel, 17% of 94,000 college grads in Shenyang this year are now flexible workers, compared to 2,000 four years ago.
Bureau chief Feng Lianqi says that in addition to the poor job market, young people are also more outward-looking and willing to take on challenges. Some of the flexible workers include private teachers, gym coaches, designers, actors and online shop owners.
“Every college grad used to be given a job, but it is no longer the case,” said Liu Hongwei, an associate professor of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts in Shenyang.
One such self-employed graduate is 23-year-old Liu Tiancong, who only works two days each week as a private violin teacher in Shenyang. “I love my students, the income is not bad, and I have plenty of time to tour around,” said Liu, who added that her parents were supportive of her flexible employment status.
“They had been laid off from state-owned enterprises, so they don’t think it is that important to have a permanent job,” she said.
Sources and references: Sandbox Advisors, HRO