http://www.bjreview.com MARCH 26, 2020 BEIJING REVIEW 39
BUSINESS
tion and medicine deliveries to hospitals.
They conduct remote nursing and temper-
ature monitoring, which reduced the risk
of cross-infection. But since robots cannot
perform on their own, behind them are
intelligent manufacturing technicians and
artiĶ cial intelligence trainers.
Copyedited by Rebeca Toledo
Comments to mamm#bjreview.comDrone operation and maintenance
personnel have also done their part as the
country has deployed drones to carry out
diversified epidemic prevention and con-
trol tasks such as broadcasting messages
about how to take protective measures
and spraying disinfectants in public areas.More job oSSortunities
The new professions are mainly in emerging
industries and modern services, which are
fresh growth points in China’s economy and
new driving forces for improving its high-Tuali-
ty development, Mao Tonghui, a commentator
with Xinhua News Agency, said.
According to a guideline on developing
the digital economy to stabilize and in-
crease employment issued by the National
Development and Reform Commission in
2018, the digital economy will become an
important channel to provide jobs by 2025,
as the sector continues to grow.
Lai Youwei, head of Meituan Research
Institute, the scientific research arm of
Meituan-Dianping, one of China’s major
online food delivery and ticketing service
platforms, said the updated occupation list
will encourage enterprises and players in the
digital economy to provide more job oppor-
tunities. For employees, it will enhance their
conĶ dence and help them to get jobs.
Affected by the epidemic, many stores,
restaurants and entertainment outlets
around the country have suspended opera-
tion since the Spring Festival, and many
people in the service industry have begun
to work as part-time delivery personnel.On February 3, Hema Fresh, Alibaba’s
New Retail grocery chain, took the initiative
to offer part-time jobs in its stores such as
couriers to idle workers from other compa-
nies. Another e-commerce platform JD.com
released its talent-sharing plan on February
5, inviting employees from restaurants, ho-
tels and other businesses that are currently
closed to join it as temporary workers.
Dada-JD Daojia, an online grocery and de-
livery company with JD.com, has reportedly
recruited 35,000 employees during this
period. From January 20 to February 23, the
food delivery branch of Meituan-Dianping
offered jobs to 75,000 people to work as
delivery personnel.
New forms of business such as the shar-
ing economy and crowdsourcing have given
rise to more flexible working models in
China. Thus, an updated job list has become
increasingly urgent in order to give people
more recognition in society and help them
get more professional training, Lai said.
It is also conducive to promoting vo-
cational education and training reform.
Colleges and universities will be encour-
aged to adapt to the reTuirements of new
professions and upgrade their courses to
help cultivate talent and build a closer con-
nection between vocational training and
social demands, he added.
It will also help improve China’s oc-
cupation classification and set up unified
standards, according to him. People will
acTuire more professional skills and get
a clearer vision of their future career. The
new list will improve the stability of em-
ployment as well.
This is the second time China has
added new professions to its occupation
list since 2015. The first batch of 13 new
professions, including esports operator and
esports player, was released in April 2019,
accounting for changes in technology and
lifestyle.
Ma Qiji, a researcher with the Pangoal
Institution, a Chinese think tank, told 21st
Century Business Herald that the introduc-
tion of such professions indicates a vast
demand for talent in these fields, which
could also be the new direction of indus-
trial development in the future. QA VR designer tests his product at Hangzhou Dream
Town, Zhejiang Province in east China,
on November 2, 2018
WEI (^) YA
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A staffer operates an unmanned
aerial vehicle to do sprinkling in
Feidong County, Anhui Province
in east China, on February 18
XIN
HU
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