Shenzhen began providing two years of free job training for
newly discharged members of the armed forces Thursday, becoming one
of the first group of Guangdong cities to do so.
Li Hongzhong, the city's Party chief, attended a ceremony
marking the beginning of the program Thursday at Shenzhen Skilled
Workers' School, where most of the new veterans will receive
training.
About 80 percent of the 450 veterans who were discharged last
year have joined the training program, according to the municipal
labor and social security bureau.
The veterans will receive training in automobile maintenance,
animation design, logistics management and cooking.
The municipal government will pay each trainee at least 7,000
yuan (US$897) annually to cover his or her tuition, accommodation
and examination fees, and guarantee each veteran a job after
graduation.
"In a survey conducted in August among soldiers who joined army
in 2004, only 18.2 percent of them are willing to be trained. But
most of them changed idea after we promoted the program," said a
source with the labor and social security bureau.
In the past, veterans were entitled to only three to six months
of free job training.
The program was launched throughout Guangdong Province
simultaneously Thursday. Guangdong is the only province offering
two-year free job training for veterans.
(Shenzhen Daily March 2, 2007)