Expert vision
Pay attention to the flexible employment group of college students
The development of the digital economy has continuously rewritten the connotation and extension of flexible employment, and the changes in people's employment concepts can also be glimpsed from it.
In the 1990s, the International Labor Organization put forward the concept of "informal employment" for organized, formal employment with labor contracts.
On this basis, in 2011, the International Labor Organization once again proposed "non-standard employment", that is, a more flexible form of employment without a standard labor contract relationship, no fixed working hours, no direct manager and an employment model managed by him , Including part-time employment, temporary employment, sub-contract employment, self-employment, domestic work, etc.
The Chinese talent market uses the term "flexible employment" to make it more visible.
Compared with formal sector employment and standard employment mode, "flexible employment" shows the characteristics of flexibility in the relationship between organization and employment.
The rise of flexible employment is a global phenomenon
At the beginning of 2021, the ILO released the "World Employment and Social Outlook 2021" report. The report pointed out that digital labor platforms are providing young people, women and other people who were previously marginalized by the traditional labor market with new job opportunities. The number of employed people has risen.
According to statistics from Eurostat, in the 28 EU countries in 2016, temporary employment, part-time employment and self-employment accounted for 12.1%, 19.5% and 14% of total employment respectively.
Dating back to the late 1990s, part-time employment in 14 countries including the United States, Britain, France, and Germany has accounted for 7.9-29% of the total employment.
Among them, the Netherlands is the highest, reaching 29.1%.
Flexible employment in China is booming
Premier Li Keqiang emphasized at the State Council executive meeting on July 22: “In the past, many people talked about employment as'fixed workers'. Now we need to change this concept. The part-time employment we support may be'temporary workers'. It may be that one person serves several units and part-time jobs." "Support multi-channel flexible employment and encourage self-employment. Implement various relief policies that have been issued. For college graduates, migrant workers, laid-off and unemployed people, etc. For key groups engaged in self-employed businesses, support for entrepreneurship subsidies, guaranteed loans, tax incentives, etc. shall be provided in accordance with regulations. At the same time, part-time employment shall be supported. For those who have difficulties in finding employment and those college graduates who have not been employed for two years to engage in part-time jobs, etc. , And provide social security subsidies as required."
Dean Yang Weiguo of the School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin University of China stated at the launch of the "China Flexible Employment Development Report (2021)" Blue Book: Affected by the epidemic and the international trade environment, it will stimulate the vitality of market players, expand employment channels, and create more flexible employment opportunities. It has become the key to stabilizing the economic fundamentals, and it is also in line with the new national strategic requirements of "domestic large-scale circulation, domestic and international dual-cycle mutual promotion".
According to the study of "The Development Status, Social Impact and Policy Recommendations of the Gig Economy in the Internet Era", China's gig economy accounted for 2.16% and 2.64% of GDP from 2018 to 2019, respectively. The pulling percentage point of the growth rate was 0.64%.
Zeng Xiangquan, director of the China Employment Research Institute of Renmin University of China, published in the article "In the Digital Economy Era, Flexible Employment Needs More Standard Development" published in the 32nd issue of "Liaowang", mentioned that according to statistics, there will be about 8,400 in the country in 2020. Ten thousand people provide services for the sharing economy, and more than 200 million individual industrial and commercial households have registered in the industrial and commercial sector.
Beijing began to implement relevant policies in July 2020 to support college graduates to rely on various platforms to achieve flexible employment in productive and daily life services such as service reservation, technology development, and content payment.
In 2020 and later, college graduates in this city whose first employment is flexible employment within two years after graduation and leaving school will be given a maximum of 3 years of flexible employment social insurance subsidies.
After graduation, college students who are engaged in freelance work can enjoy pension, unemployment and medical insurance even if they do not have an employer.
Demand for flexible employment in the job market has grown significantly
The advantages of new business formats and new models during the epidemic have been fully demonstrated. New employment forms such as online retail, mobile travel, online education and training, and online medical care have played an important role during the epidemic. Internet platforms have created more flexible jobs.
In the past two years, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and other departments have jointly announced more than 30 new occupations such as artificial intelligence engineers and carbon emission managers, and at the beginning of this year announced the revision of the 2015 edition of the "National Code of Occupation Classification".
Premier Li Keqiang said: “Employment cannot be achieved solely by the government through'plans'. Instead, it must do its best to give full play to the infinite creativity of the people. This is also an important manifestation of China's economic resilience.”
According to the Blue Book of the "Report on the Development of Flexible Employment in China (2021)", the proportion of flexible employment adopted by Chinese companies in 2020 is about 55.7%, an increase of about 11 percentage points over 2019. Nearly 30% of companies intend to stabilize or expand the scale of flexible employment.
The number of flexible employment of college students is increasing
This group of college graduates has a systematic reserve of professional knowledge, active thinking, and strong innovation ability.
The sharing economy and platform economy are developing rapidly, and new forms of employment continue to emerge. Flexible employment has become one of the employment options for college graduates.
The flexible employment of college students is self-employed and entrepreneurial under the background of the application of new technologies such as the Internet and big data, and under new business conditions.
According to statistics from the National Colleges and Universities Student Information Consultation and Employment Guidance Center, flexible employment for college graduates in 2020 accounted for 16.9%, and flexible employment for 2021 college graduates accounted for 16.25%.
Among them, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi three provinces and cities of 2021 graduates accounted for more than 30% of flexible employment.
In certain regions and certain types of colleges, the number of graduates who choose flexible employment is more prominent.
The research group of Professor Feng Xiliang from the School of Labor Economics of Capital University of Economics and Business released a phased report on the status and development trend of flexible employment for college graduates. They conducted a survey of 35,788 graduates from 15 colleges and universities in Beijing. The results show that in 2021 The proportion of flexible employment for annual junior college graduates is 25.8%, 12.3% for undergraduates and 10.7% for postgraduates.
Professor Feng's team selected the flexible employment category as freelance and employer-certified two kinds of graduation destinations.
The research conducted by Professor Feng Xiliang’s team also showed that in the past five years, the proportion of college students who directly employed after graduation has been declining, the proportion of entering higher education has been rising year by year, and the proportion of flexible employment (including freelance and employer certification) is relatively stable, accounting for 10.25% In 2021, this proportion has increased, about 12.2%.
Problems Existing in Flexible Employment of College Students
First of all, the flexible employment group of college students lacks a sense of organizational belonging and security, and the system construction and policy support for flexible employment of college students need to be improved.
There is no special management department.
There are blind spots in laws and regulations, household registration restrictions, social security and welfare benefits in flexible employment that need to be improved.
Second, there is the issue of career stability.
According to the research of Professor Feng Xiliang's team, college students hope to get more relevant theoretical knowledge and necessary career planning and guidance on flexible employment.
Some college students who choose flexible employment do not have suitable employment opportunities, or lack of internal drive to achieve their own career development, and lack of confidence in employment.
Colleges and universities have not set up courses specifically aimed at flexible employment, and there is a lack of targeted field surveys for this group.
If graduates do not make flexible employment options based on a clear career plan, fail to fully demonstrate their personality traits, and the risk assessment of flexible employment options, their career stability will be affected.
In addition, the vocational skills for flexible employment are insufficiently prepared.
Flexible employment is essentially the transformation of the labor and employment market brought about by China's industrial upgrading and social transformation.
Workers in the traditional job market have single skills and can only engage in one occupation.
With the advent of the Internet and the digital age, revolutionary changes have taken place in social production methods and lifestyles, requiring compound and skilled talents, and flexible employment is the result of market choices.
With regard to changes in the job market and competition in the workplace, college students who are flexibly employed are not prepared for vocational skills and will find it difficult to adapt.
Take advantage of the situation and improve the quality of flexible employment for college students
Flexible employment of college students has become a trend. Relevant government departments and colleges and universities should take advantage of the situation and actively support college students as a new employment option to improve the quality of employment for this group.
It is necessary to strengthen public employment services, adapt to the flexible employment needs of enterprises, and develop the gig market.
It is necessary to protect the legitimate rights and interests of flexible employees, but also to give enterprises a certain degree of flexibility so that they can create more jobs.
In terms of institutional arrangements, the government should actively explore and strengthen the construction of a new type of labor market system for flexible employment, and regulate and guide flexible employment.
Improve the inclusiveness and flexibility of flexible employment in the employment policy, fill the gaps in relevant laws and regulations, remove the household registration restrictions for flexible employment college students, increase the level of basic pension and medical insurance, and incorporate it into the national labor safety protection system and the unemployment insurance system.
In terms of organizational construction, it is necessary to enhance the sense of belonging of college students with flexible employment, build autonomous and management organizations for college students with flexible employment, integrate with the trade union system and complement each other, and strive for the right to speak for this group and improve dialogue capabilities.
In terms of information services, relevant government departments must incorporate flexible employment into the employment information release system.
Pay close attention to the demand dynamics of new professions in the society, and release information to graduates in a timely manner.
Analyze new occupations and flexible employment policies in a timely manner, and carry out targeted training.
Colleges and universities should raise awareness, incorporate flexible employment into the employment education system of colleges and universities, and offer relevant career education and employment guidance courses.
Strengthen the assessment of students' personality and ability in career development education, and assist them in making flexible employment planning.
Let graduates understand the flexible employment policy, and evaluate flexible employment options, benefits and risks.
Provide hierarchical, precise and personalized employment guidance for students who are ready to choose flexible employment.
The professional education of colleges and universities should penetrate more industry-specific knowledge and the status quo and forward-looking education of industry development, carry out flexible employment-related skills training, and improve graduates' flexible employability.
Colleges and universities should have follow-up surveys of graduates who have achieved flexible employment, follow up the career development of flexible employment college students, and accumulate materials for more precise employment guidance services.
Set up corresponding alumni organizations to allow these graduates to become part of the alumni community, establish a coupling mechanism with colleges and universities, and build a collaborative employment education system with colleges and universities.
Paying attention to the group of college students with flexible employment is a prerequisite for improving the quality of college students' employment, an important content of implementing the fundamental task of Lide to cultivate people, and realizing the systemization of "three holistic education", and it is an important measure to promote the high-quality development of education.
(The author is the deputy director of the National College Student Information Consultation and Employment Guidance Center)
Fang Wei Source: China Youth Daily