Welcome mat thrown down to attract young professionals

Chengdu releases new policies to allow university graduates seeking jobs in the city to stay at 22 hostels for seven days for free. Provided to China Daily

Chengdu ranks as the third city in China hosting job seekers who are overseas returned students, according to a report issued by the Center for China and Globalization and zhaopin.com, one of China's leading job websites, on Aug 12.

The city has adopted a set of human resource policies in an effort to attract more talented professionals to the city.

The policies, made public in July and tabled as the top government document for the city, were made public following the unveiling of the city's 50 New Industrial Policies, which encourage technological innovation and start-ups in the city.

The new human resource policies will produce the strongest benefits and cover the widest range of areas in the city's history, the city government said.

They are expected to benefit young professionals in particular, who now face a shortage of job opportunities and pressures in the price of housing in other metropolises such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The new policies allow new university graduates seeking a job in Chengdu to stay at 22 hostels for seven days free of charge. A total of 736 beds are available.

On July 15 the hostels welcomed the first batch of graduates from Yunnan, Guizhou and Henan provinces, as well as Beijing.

Zhou Yinan, a postgraduate from the college of engineering at Peking University, who was the first to arrive at a hostel in the Qingyang district of Chengdu, said, "I really appreciate the government's efforts. The moment I saw that I could stay for seven days free of charge I registered to stay here."

Zhou said he was looking for a position in the field of artificial intelligence.

"My prime choice was Chengdu because of its strength in high-tech industries. I have seen many alumni working here, and I've been told the cost of living here is lower than in other cities."

In the near future the hostels will not only provide accommodation for students, but will also become information points for job opportunities and will organize activities to help people with their career plans.

To sustain more leading professionals, the city has adopted a policy under which the city promises to issue a hukou, or permanent residency certificate, to qualified professionals even before they have found a job.