Tibet helps college graduates land jobs

The central government and the Tibet autonomous region have been prioritizing efforts to secure college graduates employment in the region, and industries and businesses are encouraged to provide more job opportunities for them, regional authorities said on Friday.

Employment, especially of college graduates in the region, has been highlighted by President Xi Jinping on multiple occasions.

During the central symposiums on Tibet-related work in 2015 and 2020, Xi emphasized the importance of the region's employment work.

During Xi's recent visit to Tibet, Xi once again stressed the importance of issues relating to employment and people's livelihood.

In recent years, the region's employment rate of college students has remained at about 95 percent, and its market employment rate has reached more than 70 percent, according to data released by the region's department of the human resources and social security.

"A market-oriented employment mode has basically taken shape, and the region's employment situation continues to improve and progress steadily,"Dawa Tsering, deputy head of the department, said during the news conference.

A series of policies and measures have been taken by officials to support employment, including subsidies to students, enterprise support and entrepreneurship innovation, said Dawa Tsering.

"Nationwide, Tibet provides the best employment policy system for college graduates, with the majority of students benefitting, and receiving the most subsidies," said Dawa Tsering.

Dawa Tsering said enterprises including railway, aviation, finance, State-owned and private enterprises are some key industries where the graduates find jobs, an average of 20,000 college graduates get job offers every year, and there are more than 30,000 job vacancies provided for college graduates this year.

In recent years, the region has also encouraged its college graduates to find jobs outside the region, and so far more than 6,000 have done so.

"College graduates employed outside of the region also benefit from supporting policies and subsidies, including housing, travel costs, tuition and student loan compensation," he said.

Dawa Tsering said entrepreneurship is another measure of employment in the region, and the government supports participants with start-up funding, rent and subsidies on water and electricity bills.

The region has invested over 100 million yuan ($14.3 million) on such projects, and more than 2,000 college graduates have become independent entrepreneurs.

Dawa Sangmo, who graduated from Shanghai University in 2018 and now works in Tibet Fukang Hospital in the human resources department, is a direct beneficiary of Tibet's employment policy.

"I have been benefiting from the region's various policies of helping college students find jobs since 2017. These supports include housing, training, social security, travel and getting a professional qualification certificate," said Dawa Sangmo.

In 2019, she got a living allowance of more than 14,000 yuan from the government, and her company also paid for her training courses.

"When I applied for various subsidies for job employment, the staff were always so patient and helpful, and some application processes are easy as they are workable online," she said.