More Jobs Become Available to Foreign Graduates in Shanghai

2017-06-30

Back in 2015, a policy was introduced in Shanghai dictating that foreign graduates from Shanghai universities were allowed to remain in the city for work only if he or she had earned at least a master’s degree. However, that policy has now been revoked allowing foreign graduates to enjoy more job opportunities in Shanghai as they will no longer require two years of work experience before finding employment in the city.

“Outstanding” international graduates from Chinese universities in Shanghai with master’s degrees or higher will be able to work in the city despite having no work experience, the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau said yesterday. By outstanding, authorities mean students with an average academic score of 80 and above, according to a bureau statement.

Under the new policy, foreigners who graduate from Shanghai universities need only gain a bachelor’s degree if their future employers operate in the Free Trade Zone or the Zhangjiang area. The Free Trade Zone (FTZ) officially launched in September of 2013 as an area in Pudong that could enjoy preferable corporate policies. For example, video games, which had been banned in China, were first sold in the FTZ. Additionally, companies are not subjected to start-up fees in the FTZ like other areas of Shanghai. The FTZ acts as a guinea pig to see if the policies would work for the rest of Shanghai, and this is why the new policy regarding foreign graduates is being tested in this area first. 

The first person to receive this new type of work permit is American national Tyler Rhorick. He graduated from New York University Shanghai with a bachelor’s degree which made him eligible for the work permit. Rhorick will be working as an associate for new student programs at NYU Shanghai’s Pudong campus.

“Shanghai has been a place of many firsts for me,” he said. “It was the destination of my first ever international flight, the reason I applied for my first passport (pages now all filled). It was where I graduated this May as part of NYU Shanghai’s inaugural class, and it’s where I will now navigate the journey of my first full-time job,” Rhorick said. “I have a three-year contract, and after that I’ll see. I love this city. Even while I was traveling abroad, my heart was always in Shanghai. It was the first place that truly felt like home — the first place I set myself up as an individual, an adult living away from my parents. No matter where I was in the world, I always thought about returning to Shanghai.”

For people like Rhorick who consider Shanghai home, the new policy offers some sort of relief allowing him to legally stay in the city his heart is devoted to. The new policy is aimed at helping Shanghai develop into a world-class hub to attract and cultivate talents in innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as an ideal place for them to develop their careers and realize their own value, according to the Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.

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