Westward bound

By He Na (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-03-17 14:03

The struggle for jobs that graduates are facing has Liu Yening, a third-year student at the Beijing University of Science and Technology, really worried about her future.

"Can you believe that of the more than 70 students who will graduate in July from our department, no one has a job offer yet," says the student of international trade. The academic year in Chinese universities runs from September to July.

Liu has been trying to find a part-time job to gain some work experience before graduating next year but all her efforts have been futile.

The country's sharp export contraction means bleak job prospects for new graduates.

"I do not know whether the financial tsunami will be over next year, but instead of wasting time in a bleak market, I would rather further my studies abroad," she says, while attending a presentation by England's Nottingham Trent University (NTU), at a hotel in Beijing.

Over a quarter of the students in her class have already begun to prepare for studies overseas, she says.

"I like art and also know that there are few jobs, if any, now for a graduate of international trade. Hence, I am thinking of studying world heritage in England.

"I am very interested in the master's degree in world heritage at Nottingham Trent, as the university is supposed to have a high employment rates for graduate students in England."

As the competition for jobs intensifies, a number of Chinese graduates and college seniors are mulling offers to study abroad.

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