“Foreigners Facing Job Hurdles? ”Shenzhen Deputy Offers a Plan

Source: OT-Team(G)，深圳特区报

  Shenzhen's annual "Two Sessions" have come to a close. Among the many discussions held during the event, what proposals were made concerning foreign residents?

 He Shanshan, a deputy to the Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, Vice President of the Shenzhen Social Workers Association, and Chair of Nanfeng Social Work Service Center, has been particularly focused on building an internationalized city. During discussions within the Nanshan delegation, she put forward two proposals: one on optimizing policies to facilitate foreign students' employment and entrepreneurship in Shenzhen and another on improving the registration process for foreign volunteers in the city's volunteer management system.

  He highlighted that in recent years, Nanshan District has hosted multiple international job fairs, helping foreign talent secure employment in Shenzhen, a move welcomed by businesses. However, the employment rate for foreign graduates in Shenzhen remains around 32%, with many still facing difficulties in securing jobs. The key challenges include a short post-graduation job-seeking period, limited recruitment channels for foreign enterprises and students, and insufficient policies and services supporting foreign employment and entrepreneurship.

  To address these issues, He proposed a series of measures, including extending the job-seeking period or stay duration for foreign graduates to reduce barriers for young international professionals who wish to remain in Shenzhen. One of her key recommendations is to delegate the authority to issue work visas and residence permits to district-level governments. She suggested establishing a "Nanshan Service Station for Foreign Employment and Residence Affairs" in Nanshan District, an area with a high concentration of foreign professionals, to provide one-stop services for work permits and work-related residence permits. This decentralization of administrative authority, she argued, would significantly improve efficiency and convenience for foreign residents.

  Additionally, He called for the continuous development of employment and entrepreneurship services for international students, incorporating foreign student employment into the workforce planning of municipal and district human resources departments. She urged recruitment platforms and companies to create more internship and job opportunities tailored to foreign graduates.

  To further enhance Shenzhen's international business and entrepreneurial environment, she suggested that the Shenzhen Talent Bureau, the Public Security Bureau, and the Human Resources Bureau explore targeted policies to support foreign students and international talent in starting businesses in the city.