Hairdressers put dinner banquet makeups on models during a national skills competition in Lanzhou, Gansu province, in March. Some 500 contestants took part in the event. TIAN XI/FOR CHINA DAILY

Employment scope

According to Zhaopin, the recruitment portal, companies' demand for vocational graduates saw a year-on-year rise of 29.4 percent from July to March, 5.9 percentage points higher than the average increase rate of demand for job hunters with other educational backgrounds. They also face less intensive competition compared to those with a bachelor's or master's degree. The competition index, with the number of resumes submitted divided by vacancies posted on the platform, was 51 for vocational graduates, 82 for postgraduates and 123 for undergraduates.

However, vocational students face pressure winning jobs or popular positions related to finance, technology development and administrative management.

Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin, said recruitment needs are related to job hunters' educational backgrounds and companies usually pay less attention to vocational graduates. About 17.2 percent of companies on the platform have vacancies for vocational graduates, much lower than the positions offered to undergraduates — over 65.2 percent.

"The vocational graduates submit fewer resumes on the platform — 2.14 on average. Undergraduates submit 5.29 resumes on average and postgraduates 8.37, which means the recruitment standards, based on educational background, discourage vocational graduates," he said.

"It will be helpful to know the job market and the requirement of companies and what they really want for recruitment and improve the skills that may be useful in interviewing for such jobs," he said. "It's necessary to expand their social circles and get actively involved in profession-focused activities or industry meetings to make friends in order to win more job opportunities."

He said with on-site job fairs reopening after the government optimized the country's COVID-control policies, vocational graduates can cast the net widely by joining both online and on-site recruitment campaigns.

Wu Guangming, deputy dean of Dongguan Technician College in the southern Guangdong province, said in an interview with Yicai that companies have larger demand for front-line workers, especially those in manufacturing.

According to the college's data, there were about 10,092 vacancies offered by 320 companies in Dongguan and surrounding cities at the college's job fair organized in June. Among the vacancies, 5,203 related to smart manufacturing, which is far more than the number of graduates in this major in the college — roughly 571.

Wu added that the companies usually recruit all graduates in manufacturing majors such as computer numerical control and mechatronics.

Contact the writer at chengsi@chinadaily.com.cn