High-tech and modern service talent are in great demand at the job fair held on Friday in Shanghai, as the city continues to ramp up efforts to promote employment and build a birth-friendly society.

Birth-friendly employers were in the spotlight along with job opportunities in high-tech industries. About 120 companies from the city's key industries, including integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, elderly care nursing and housekeeping services, drew massive candidates during the one-day event.

Over 1,000 employers offering more than 26,000 opportunities joined the job fair that took place simultaneously at one main venue and 15 branch venues across Shanghai's districts on Friday. By the time of writing, over 13,000 resumes were submitted to employers at the fair, and 4,100 employment intentions were reached, according to the Shanghai Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, one of the fair's hosts.

The fair's main venue at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, where 500 companies were offering more than 14,000 job vacancies, was packed with job seekers. Consisting of 12 sections, the stadium gathered employers from diverse industries and functions including technology, construction, logistics, cultural tourism, modern services, electronics and human resources. Nearly 21 percent of the employers have positions open for new university graduates.

Meanwhile, free services such as professional image creation, photo shooting, resume modification, AI-based mock interviews and individualized careers guidance, were also provided on-site to help the applicants get better prepared for their careers.

"The job fair is not only a platform to post job vacancies, but also a platform to communicate, interact and gain experience … Shanghai always welcomes talents from across China and the world to work and start their businesses here, and we are fully confident about the labor market in the city," said Zhou Guoliang, director of the Shanghai Employment Promotion Center, one of the fair's organizers.

Frank Ma, partner and chief talent officer at StepFun, a Shanghai-based AI startup focused on advancing artificial general intelligence, was seeking senior talent in technology and algorithms at the fair.

"The global race for talent in our sector is quite fierce due to the technical and competency thresholds. Shanghai is international and boasts a high density of global talent. Also, the city has rolled out many favorable industrial policies and talent policies, gathering top high-tech companies in clusters. We feel solidly supported here in the wave of AI development," he said.

Hu Zhihong, who runs a housekeeping service company with over 2,000 staff, is eager for new talents as well, offering over 1,000 job vacancies at the fair including infant nurses, babysitters, declutterers and maternity matrons. Having been in the industry for 16 years, she said Shanghai is now in "great demand" for housekeeping services.

"The housekeeping service is not exclusive to high-end families. Ordinary families are in demand of such services too, as we all need care, companionship and better lives. We are seeing more people becoming aware of the demand, and more professional and young people are joining the industry. We are glad to be at the fair to have direct and quick match with the applicants, and we hope to bring in more high-quality talents," she said.

Long queues featuring female candidates were also observed at the booth of birth-friendly employers. Since last November, Shanghai has started the pilot program on birth-friendly posts, encouraging employers to facilitate work and motherhood for workers through flexible management measures on working hours, leaves and remote working. During the fair, 350 posts were offered by birth-friendly employers, and 12 other companies were officially recognized as such employers.

Zhou pointed out that Shanghai's efforts in promoting birth-friendly employment reflect the city's warm care for employees. "We hope companies could take more social responsibilities, and we will keep working on supporting policies to encourage more companies to become birth-friendly employers," he added.