Mayor touts skilled workforce during Beijing visit

By Wang Jianfen (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-02-28 22:04

The mayor of Baoji, an industrial city in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, toured Beijing Saturday to help Baoji's skilled workers locate jobs in the Chinese capital.

"Baoji is scheduled to hold the 2009 Job Fair for Skilled Workers from March 26-27," announced Dai Zhengshe at a news conference in Beijing Saturday. "I sincerely invite companies in Beijing to take part."

Dai Zhengshe, the mayor of Baoji, speaks during a news conference in Beijing Feb 28, 2009. [chinadaily.com.cn]

The job fair will also aim at overseas employers, said Bai Diankui, director of labor and social security bureau in Baoji.

Bai Diankui, director of labor and social security bureau in Baoji, listens during a news conference in Beijing Feb 28, 2009. [chinadaily.com.cn]

With 800 exhibition booths, the fair promises to provide more than 30,000 job openings for skilled workers including mechanics, electricians, construction workers, chefs, doctors and nurses and drivers. The event will also be divided into 10 areas with potential employers from Beijing, Tianjin, Northeast China, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong and overseas. Currently skilled workers from Baoji are working in 26 provinces and municipalities in China as well as in 21 nations or regions overseas.

The city of Baoji invites companies in Beijing to take part in a March job fair in a news conference in Beijing Feb 28, 2009.

The job-promotion initiative comes at a time when the global economic crisis takes an increasing toll on China and employment has become the top priority for the Chinese government.

Over the past few months, more than 20 million migrant workers, or 15.3 percent of China's army of migrants, have become unemployed, according to government statistics.

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Baoji has fared better in employment than other Chinese cities despite losing many jobs in the equipment manufacturing industry. About 53,600 migrant workers, or only 7.5 percent of Baoji's migrants, have lost their jobs during the economic crisis.

The strong labor force is attributed to the technicians' competitive skills and help from the city government. As manufacturing jobs in the Peal River Delta and all along the once-booming southern coast are disappearing at a stunning pace, the city has turned its eyes to Tianjin and Beijing.

"At one job fair organized by the city last year, 3,000 skilled workers were employed by companies from Tianjin," said Dai.

Skilled workers from Baoji are highly regarded among employers in Beijing, Tianjin, Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta, which are China's economic engines.

"Skilled workers from Baoji are known to be honest, capable and hard-working," said Dai, adding that its skilled workers won a national human resources prize in 2007 and became China's first registered human resources trademark in 2008. Now it has developed into a well-known brand and is hailed as the city's hallmark.

In addition to Beijing, the Baoji city government will also hold similar news conferences in Tianjin and four other Chinese cities to attract employers to the fair.