'Transform' college to ease job pinch

National political advisers suggested the government adjust majors and specialties at colleges and universities to ease employment difficulties.  [Special coverage]

Many college graduates have a hard time finding a job after graduation, said Wang Shuping, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference who also serves as deputy head of the Tianjin artists association.

A reason for the disconnect is that majors available at colleges and universities are too often not what is needed in the fast changing market, Wang said.

"It's high time for the education authorities to transform colleges and universities," he said.

The number of university and college graduates this year soared to 7.27 million, 280,000 more than last year, which poses a severe challenge to the employment market, according to the government.

Xu Qiang, a CPPCC National Committee member, suggested that the government should focus more on vocational education rather than building more comprehensive universities.

The difficulty of finding a job for graduating students might not be eased in the near future, considering that most universities are comprehensive ones, with few focusing on vocational education, he said.

Li Xuechun, another CPPCC National Committee member, suggested that private colleges should take advantage of their connections with business enterprises to help with undergraduate employment.

Zhu Xing, also a political adviser and deputy head of the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, said the current discrimination against vocational education contributed to the imbalance.

The government should further invest and promote vocational education to solve the problem, he said