The options for Chinese jobseekers are growing increasingly diverse, with 19 new professions added recently to the country's list of officially recognized occupations.
Over half of the new professions involve digital and smart technologies, such as operators of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems, smart-vehicle testers, and industrial-internet maintenance workers, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
"It seems to me that AI and big data companies are craving digital talent," said Li Ming, a computer science graduate from Beijing, at a recent job fair in Haidian District, the Chinese capital's tech hub.
Li spent much of his graduate school years studying machine learning and completed a two-year internship at a robotics firm. "I am looking forward to a career in this field," he said.
Li's aspiration aligns with China's growing demand for digital professionals. A survey by online recruitment platform Zhaopin shows that IT and internet-related jobs are the most sought-after among Chinese university graduates in 2024.
Notably, the AI sector ranks among the top three job creators and recipients for graduates nationwide this year, according to Lagou, a similar job-seeking platform.
As China embarks on a tech-driven development path, its digital industry has seen robust growth in recent years. A report from the Digital China Summit in May shows that the output of core sectors of the digital economy constituted 10 percent of China's GDP in 2023, with the number of major AI firms exceeding 4,500. The rapid expansion has led to a talent shortage of 25 million to 30 million people.
"We can see a shortage in not only digital practitioners, but also in their professionalism and variety," said Zhang Jianguo, chairman and CEO of Renrui Human Resources Technology Holdings Limited.
"As the AI boom unfolds nationwide, talent demand is changing much faster than talent supply," Zhang said.
In the first quarter of this year, jobs related to AI-generated content increased by over 320 percent from a year earlier. The applications for such jobs skyrocketed by more than 940 percent, according to data from job-seeking service provider Liepin. Specifically, natural language processors and graphics engineers were the highest paid among all occupations.
"The emergence of these new professions reflects the latest demands of China's society and market," said Zhang Chenggang from the Capital University of Economics and Business.
Areas such as the digital economy and IT are where China's industrial transformation and upgrades are heading, Zhang said. "We can clearly see how many jobs will be created by these sectors, considering the widespread use of AI technology," said Zhang, who leads a research center on new professions.
To meet the burgeoning and diverse demand, the Chinese leadership has pledged to "advance reforms of higher education institutions on a categorized basis and develop discipline adjustment mechanisms and talent training models" in its future policies, with the aim of speeding up the country's sci-tech development and the implementation of national strategies.
While making "extraordinary moves" in its planning for disciplines and majors that are in urgent demand, the country will work harder to cultivate top talent, with a strong emphasis on fostering innovative capacity, according to a resolution adopted during the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China earlier this month.
In April, nine government agencies jointly released a three-year action plan to "expedite the cultivation of digital talent to support the development of the digital economy."
As noted by the plan, a comprehensive cultivation framework integrating industry associations, enterprises and higher education institutions will be established to better align talent with market needs.
As the digital sector becomes a major growth driver of the Chinese economy, the structure of the country's job market needs further fine-tuning, said Li Qiang, vice president of Zhaopin. Li called for consistent efforts to create high-calibre talent and provide them with fulfilling jobs, so that relevant businesses can thrive.
According to an official estimate, the year 2024 will see 11.79 million students graduating from colleges across the country, marking an increase of 210,000 from 2023.
