Shanghai Education Commission helps college grads find jobs
应届毕业生就业难 教育委员会出力

Millions of college students in China will be graduating in less than three months, including thousands who have been studying art and design. For years, Shanghai has been trying to help such students by setting up design shows and competitions.

Less than ten minutes before the start of a fashion show, Ma Yuru was still rehearsing with the models wearing her work... the so-called Shanghai-style cheongsam. She has been studying clothing design for six years and is about to get her master’s degree. She says her school’s annual fashion week can mean a lot for her future career.

Ma is one of hundreds of design majors the school is trying to help. Most want to find jobs in clothing design, and one university official says the school has been helping its students learn what the market wants.

Last year, about 3,000 college students graduated with degrees in art and design. But not many of them could find jobs related to what they had learned. So the Shanghai education commission is giving them some help.

At this exhibition in Pudong, hundreds of artworks from 17 local colleges are on display, ranging from clothing and jewelry to animation. And it’s more than just a show as the commission has invited nearly 130 companies to assess the work - a rare opportunity for students to showcase their designs for future employers.

China’s Ministry of Education says more than 7 million college students will graduate nationwide over the next few months. That’s nearly 300,000 more than last year. Among them will be more than 100,000 art and design students, whose major is the fifth most popular in China.