年轻移民工渴求职业技能

Young migrant workers are keen to receive skills training so they can land better jobs than their parents, recent studies have found.

Born in the 1980s, the so-called "second-generation migrant workers" come from the countryside but have little farming experience. They have better educational backgrounds than their parents but little family burden. Above all, they are young and ambitious.

The China Youth and Children Research Center found that more than 97 percent of second-generation migrant workers said they hoped to continue learning. However, less than 80 percent said they had actually received training.

In April, the center polled more than 4,600 migrant workers from across the country, all of whom were born in the 80s.

Another survey, carried out earlier this year by the Zhejiang Academy of Labor and Social Security, involved more than 2,000 migrant workers in their 20s from across the province. It found that all of them wanted skills training.

Chen Shida, president of the academy, said: "Unlike their parents, these young people want to make a living with their brains rather than brawn.

"They adapt their behavior and way of thinking to the city and it is impossible for them to return to the country," he told China Daily.

Compared with most urban children, young migrants lack vocational skills and few of them get the chance to access higher education. Most start work after graduating from middle school at age of 18 or lower.

Unsatisfied with their status, many young migrant workers frequently change their jobs. But without learning new skills, they have little chance of improving their standard of living.

However, some employers and labor and social security departments have realized that the lack of qualified workers is limiting the development of local industries. Which is why some local governments have set up vocational training schools for migrant workers.

According to the Ministry of Education, at the end of last year there were more than 151,000 training schools around the country, which had provided training for more than 45 million people in 2006 alone.

Labor authorities in Hangzhou and Haiyan in Zhejiang Province introduced a policy last year to provide migrant workers with subsidies to help them complete their training. Under the plan, workers can choose from a range of subjects and as long as they finish the course and gain a certificate, local governments will pay half the tuition fee.

最近调查表明，年轻农民工热衷于接受技能培训，这样才能找到比父母好的工作。所谓的“第二代移民工”出生于八十年代，虽然他们来自农村，但是没有做过什么农活。他们受的教育比父辈好，也没多少家庭负担。一言以蔽之，他们年轻，雄心勃勃。中国青年与儿童研究中心发现，97%以上的第二代移民工希望继续学习。但是，实际接受过培训的不到80%。四月，该中心在全国调查了4 600名移民工，他们全部出生于80年代。年初，浙江劳动和社会保障科学研究院在全省调查了2 000多名移民工。这项调查发现，被调查者全部都希望接受技能培训。科学院主席陈诗达说：“这些年轻人和他们父辈不同，他们都想靠大脑而不是肌肉谋生。” 他告诉《中国日报》：“不管是行为还是思维方式，他们都已经融入了城市之中，不可能在回到农村。” 和大多数城市里的孩子相比，年轻的移民缺少职业培训，他们很少能接受高等教育。他们从中学毕业时大多只有18岁甚至不到18岁，然后就参加工作。许多年轻移民工对现状不满，频繁更换工作。但是，由于没有学习新技能，他们鲜有机会改善自己的生活标准。但是，一些雇主和社会与劳动保障部门已经意识到，缺乏合格工人限制了当地工业的发展。所以一些地方政府移民工设立了职业培训学校。据教育部消息，截止到去年底，全国有151 000所培训学校，单在2006年就对4500万人进行了培训。去年，浙江省杭州市和海盐市劳动部门于引入了一项政策，这项政策旨在为移民工提供补贴，帮助他们完成培训。在该计划下，工人卡哇伊选择一些列课程，只要完成学业，获得证书，当地政府就支付一半学费。