China's employment and entrepreneurship of youths, especially fresh graduates, is attracting increased attention and support from the government.

Three government departments — the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance — have jointly released a notice with 17 proactive measures.

Made public on Friday, the measures aim to boost the employment of fresh college graduates and youths this year, through policy and financial incentives for employers, and skills training programs and job services for students.

Data show that the nation will see 12.22 million fresh university and college graduates this year, up by 430,000 from 2024.

Under the measures, social organizations hiring fresh college graduates, graduates yet to land jobs within two years and jobless youths aged from 16 to 24, can get the same financial subsidies as companies.

Organizations can get a subsidy of 1,500 yuan ($206) for each person they hire after signing standard labor contracts and paying them social insurance. The policy will expire on Dec 31 this year.

Also, State-owned enterprises can apply for capital increases specifically used to hire fresh college graduates, according to the notice, and the policy will expire on Dec 31, 2026.

The government will send officials or invite officials from universities and colleges to companies, to help develop more job opportunities for students. Also, government-sponsored entrepreneurial zones will lower the entry threshold for college graduates and youths to encourage and better support young people's entrepreneurship.

Working skills training is of great importance to young people's employment, said the notice, thus the government will set up 1,000 sub-majors and 1,000 vocational skills training programs at universities and colleges across the nation. The sub-majors are usually interdisciplinary, which are not for academic purposes, but are designed to diversify students' knowledge and enhance their professional competence.

More internship opportunities will be collected from companies, research institutes and government bodies, according to the notice, and these positions will mainly cover scientific research and technical engineering, as well as management-related.

The notice said that improved job services and assistance will be available to fresh college graduates and those graduates who are not successful in landing jobs. For example, to those college graduates yet to find jobs, the government will offer them services including employment policy explanation, job seeking guidance, job recommendations and possibly internship opportunities.

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