A large number of Shanghai university students are planning to spend their winter vacations learning to drive, a skill many think will help them find a good job in the future.

Shanghai Shentong Driver Training Center, one of the biggest such training centers in the city, said applications from local university students have risen by 10 percent in the run up to the winter vacation, which starts next week.

Most of the applicants are male students in the third or fourth year of study at nearby universities, such as Fudan University and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, the training school said.

"But due to the time limit of the one-month winter vacation, the number of student applicants is still limited," said Ding Weiwen, the training school's manager.

Training usually takes two months, with student drivers spending eight hours a day, two days a week at the center. After students have finished their training, which is mandatory to receive a driver's license in China, the school will help them set up their driving test. The driving courses cost around 4,000 yuan (US$482).

The school said about 200 students take driving courses every summer vacation, accounting for about 30 percent of the center's business during that time of year.

Though detailed figures about the number of student drivers in the city are not available, Dai Silong, an official with the Shanghai General Team of Traffic and Patrol Police, said most of the learners in the city are young people.

Some local universities have also teamed up with training schools to offer students driving courses at a 10 percent discount, according to Shanghai Gaoxiao Driving Training Center, which has a deal with Fudan's Journalism College to recruit students.

"I will use the vacation to learn driving in order to prepare for my job-hunt next year," said Ren Jie, a junior at Shanghai International Studies University.

Many students agree with Ren that a driver's license will help them find work, a notion training centers exploit in ads posted on local campuses.

Some parents ask their children to learn how to drive in case they fail to find a suitable job, said Dai.

"It makes me feel fashionable to learn driving, because many modern white-collar workers drive their own cars," said Aire Hu, 20, admitting that her family doesn't have a car and she has no plans to buy one any time soon.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Lifestyle News
+Japan warships attack Chinese fishing boats ( 2004-01-16) +Beijing-Shanghai rail drops maglev plan? ( 2004-01-15) +Nation goes on bird flu high alert ( 2004-01-15) +Hu to visit France, African nations ( 2004-01-15) +Air safety new top priority ( 2004-01-15)		+Tibet expects more tourists this year ( 2004-01-16) +Inmates get the gift of family for holidays ( 2004-01-16) +Books added to Spring Festival shopping list ( 2004-01-16) +China draws policy on human cloning ( 2004-01-16) +Book unveils life of Laura Bush ( 2004-01-16)