Small Enterprises in

Shanghai

 7^th issue

（No. 104）

Shanghai Small Enterprises Development Coordination Office              Jul.6, 2007

Work of Promoting Employment and Self-Employment in 2006

Employment is the foundation of the people’s livelihood and self-employment, their way to wealth. Thus employment and self-employment are of vital importance to the building-up of a harmonious society.  Small and medium enterprises are the major contributors of employment. In 2006, 7.807 million people are employed by small and medium enterprises, 286,800 more than the number of 2005. The employment promoting achieved new progress thanks to the leadership of the municipal committee of CPC and government as well as the joint efforts from all corners of the society, creating 663,000 new jobs, among which were 137,000 non-agricultural ones for suburban surplus labor. By the end of the year, unemployment rate was controlled at 4.4%. The environment for self-employment was further improved by providing 539 million RMB to guarantee opening-up loans and setting-up personal training account for 363 thousand residents. The “Prosperity by Skill Plan” was progressing, increasing the proportion of highly skilled talents to 17%.

In 2006, the related organs and departments cooperated in further carrying out the policy of promoting employment by controlling growth and supporting the existing. More flexible and diverse employment types and more effective promoting policies restructured the industries and youth population and encouraged the unemployed and suburban surplus labor to rely on themselves in creating and finding jobs. Stable charity jobs were created to provide help for those who had troubles in employment and livelihood. Moreover, various vocational skill-training courses were held to promote the proficiency of the workers.

1. Encouraged Laborers to Start Business on Their Own

We explored the long-term mechanism of promoting employment by encouraging people in the work force to start businesses. We proposed the three-element mechanism, or project-capital-land mechanism, that removed the three major obstacles of starting a business, namely lack of fund, land, and capability. The mechanism was proved to be a viable way to encourage self-employment with the guidance and support of government. And we further increased the accessibility of finance guarantee and land support. With regards to finance guarantee, we adopted more encouraging policies, offering small guarantees of several thousand RMB for starters and gradually increase the amount to several hundred thousand RMB as per to the integrity and development of the business. In land support, we applied the favorable policies for industrial parks to those who find operating places by themselves, providing a certain amount of rent compensation. The districts, counties, communities were encouraged to build up “Fully-Employed Community” and “Community of Integrity” by applying the favorable policies to their status quo.   

2. Proactively Promote the Employment for People in Exceptional Poverty

The national government compensated self-employment of the older unemployed who are two years from retirement. And the municipal government compensated the cross-district, or county, employment of surplus labor force and those whose land has been requisitioned. We made full use of the favorable policies for labor service enterprises, the ownership reform of sideline industries of state-owned enterprises, trade and commercial, and service enterprises to attract the labor force to be transferred in the industrial restructuring and also helped those who have low income and poor living condition, including those released from labor reform and reeducation, to settle down with basic living standard while providing special help to families with no employment. 

3. Proactively Promoted the Employment of Youths, Most of Whom are College Graduates

We explored the construction of highly-skilled talent culturing system through campus-company cooperation to promote vocational education, industrial development, and the combination of education and employment, realizing the social effect of “highlighting a culturing mechanism (culturing with orders), awarding two certificates (graduate certificate and vocational certificate) and winning satisfaction from three sides (government, enterprises, and families).” In 2006, we launched the 5000 people-training program to provide highly pertinent instructions. With the cooperation and joint efforts of all departments concerned, a public job interface is built-up to increase the efficiency of job hunting and hiring.

4. Promoted the Labor’s Comprehensive Vocational Skills 

In 2006, the city Small and Medium Enterprise Association held three safe production training courses which issued safe production certificates of competence by managers and safe production cadres from nearly 200 enterprises. The associations also hold regularly vocational qualification training courses in credit management, finance management, logistics, exhibition, brand management, etc., to promote the management quality and vocational skills of small and medium enterprises. The departments related shall put more emphasis on the training of the unemployed, rural surplus labor and labor to be transferred from industrial restructuring, expand the training and probation bases, to realize the city’s project of providing vocational probation for 30 thousand youths. And a multi-dimensional public training system shall be built-up to meet the diversified training needs of the labor.

5. Promoted Employment through Various Methods

We further carried out the community oriented volunteer service of experts in starting business by inviting and organizing experts into the community for Youths Business Initiation Salon to be the consultants of self-employed young people. And the Start-Up Market caravan was driven into the communities, parks, and campuses to reach the expert’s help into all corners of the city. The Small and Medium Enterprise Job Market of Small and Medium Enterprise Association hold job fair regularly so that the enterprises and talents can meet face to face. The market successfully held the 2006 Employment Promoting Policy Consultation——Enterprises into Communities Job Fair, attracting more than 70 enterprises with nearly a thousand jobs and providing legal support, social security, employment training and employment policy consultation on the spot. 1,800 job hunters came to the fair and 357 of them signed intentional job offer.   （by Qiang Li）