Special Report:Global Financial Crisis
NANNING, March 13 (Chinese media) -- Beginning as a teenager, Wei Meili spent
seven years working in factories in far-flung cities, teaching herself English
along the way. Now she's back home in southwest China, where her initiative is
proving valuable.
Wei, a high school dropout, is now a manager in a Swiss restaurant in her
hometown of Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Her
language skills got her the job, which pays 4,000 yuan (585 U.S. dollars) a
month, on par with white-collar pay and about four times what she earned in
factories.
"The job market was getting weak in Dongguan where I worked for seven
years," said the 23-year-old. When she came home in January for Lunar New Year,
she decided to stay and seek new work.
"It wasn't luck that got her the job, it was her hard work and drive to
improve herself," said the Swiss owner of the restaurant, who would only give
his name as Hanser.
He said that despite widespread unemployment in the city, it was very
difficult to find a local resident who could speak good English. Most of the
restaurant's customers are foreigners seeing the sights of Guangxi. Although she
has little education, Wei can communicate fluently with them.
"The electric appliance plant where I worked in Dongguan did business with
foreign customers. I did a lot of self-study to improve my English, which I saw
would be useful in work," said Wei.
Her initiative, however, makes her an exception among unskilled migrants,
most of whom can only do hard labor for low pay. Local and national governments
are grappling with the problem of how to help the newly unemployed, many of whom
have few assets beyond a strong back or nimble hands, get back to work
In the labor export region of Guangxi, 1.5 million out of about11.7 million
rural laborers have lost their jobs as a result of the economic slowdown this
year, said Jiang Minghong, head of Guangxi's labor bureau.
"The best way to help them get reemployed is to provide training," he said.
He said the government had allocated 240 million yuan to provide free training
for jobless migrant workers this year.
"Training for migrant workers is crucial, especially for the younger
generations," said Chen Shida, head of the Research Institute of Labor and
Social Welfare in east China's Zhejiang Province.
He said younger migrant workers, who were born after 1980, are both choosy
about what they do in the cities and unwilling to return to the farms.
"Most are not as hard-working and contented as their parents. Training can
help them adjust," said Chen.
According to a survey by China's State Council, or cabinet, in November
last year, only 20 percent of migrant workers had received even minimal training
before going to work in cities, and 76.4 percent of them had no training at all.
Ministry of Construction figures showed only 10 percent of 32 million
farmers who became construction workers had basic training in their new
industry, compared with more than 70 percent in developed countries.
Skill training: A way to bail out migrant
workers
BEIJING, March 3 (Chinese media) -- Almost 40, Li Zhengwen is
having maybe the toughest time of his life.
After being jobless for four months, Li is considering
vocational training to make himself more employable. Full story
China Focus: Economic woes entrench China's migrant workers in
hard times
SHENYANG, March 2 (Chinese media)
-- Unemployed Qin Zhongli stands in front of a vacancy billboard at a job market
in northeast China's Shenyang City.
An experienced chef, Qin, 35, earned 2,000 yuan (290 U.S.
dollars) a month last year -- a decent living for his wife, daughter and son
back in his village in the eastern province of Shandong, 1,000 km away. Full story
China unveils massive stimulus plan
amid global crisis; Premier calls for confidence
BEIJING, March 5 (Chinese media) -- Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao Thursday called on the nation to strengthen "conviction for
victory" as he unveiled an unprecedented stimulus package to shore up economic
growth amid global downturn.
In a work report to the National People's
Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, Wen said China is facing
"unprecedented difficulties and challenges" as economic growth slows, employment
pressure mounts and social uncertainties increase in 2009, the most difficult
year since the new millennium. Full story
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