Young people find their niche in life

Keen interest

More than 60 percent of people born since the 1990s have shown a strong interest in spending for their own purposes and happiness, according to a Chinese consumption report in September by market consultancy iiMedia Research.

On Alibaba's Tmall e-commerce platform, designer toys were in high demand during the annual November 11 shopping festival, followed by cosmetics and fast-selling consumer goods.

There are 27,000 businesses related to designer toys in China, and they have an annual growth rate of 23.4 percent, according to a new careers study report by Chinese corporate information provider Tianyancha.

Yu Xinyan's interest in live action role-playing games led to him becoming a part-time games host at a creative cultural park in Foshan, Guangdong province.

He has long played such games, and was accepted for the position last year after finishing his topographical studies at a vocational school.

Yu's experience enabled him to land the job, which requires him to explain the rules of games and also tasks to customers.

"They don't have to worry about not knowing how to play — they can just follow my lead," said Yu, who is in his 20s and earns 100 yuan from each session of a game.

Moreover, becoming a games host has given him a sense of achievement.

"The players, who enjoy the immersive experience of the script, follow my instructions, which is fun for me," he said.

China has paid increased attention to developing new careers in recent years.

In 2020, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security made the position of online salesperson an official job under the category of "internet marketer", and also drew up standards for vocational skills.

Careers guidance has been offered to numerous aspiring young people who have found jobs in the nation's rising e-commerce industry.

Xiao Jun, an associate professor at Shenzhen University's management school in Guangdong, said the rapid progress made by China in communication technology paved the way for a large number of emerging industries.

"These industries create a significant number of jobs and help set young people on the path to a career," Xiao said.

In turn, this trend has led to more people launching their own businesses.