Advisor Urges Student to Forge Employment Documents... The Shadow Behind China's Employment Rate Statistics

Administrative Staff and Academic Advisors Mobilized to Enforce 'Tripartite Agreement'
Company-University-Graduates... Company Pays Only 12,000 Won
Government Directive: 'Department Closure if Employment Rate Does Not Exceed 60%'

In China, which is suffering from the worst youth unemployment crisis in history, it has been revealed that some universities are demanding the submission of 'fake certificates' to meet employment rate targets.

According to Beijing Youth Daily on the 30th, administrative staff and academic advisors at Chinese universities are being mobilized to manipulate graduate employment statistics to meet target figures.

Young people participating in a job fair held in Chongqing, China, last April. [Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

Li Zi, a soon-to-be graduate of a Chinese university, recently drafted a document with university student management staff stating that employment had been secured.

The document was a tripartite agreement between the company, the graduate, and the university, containing a 'false employment certificate' indicating employment despite Li Zi never having actually been employed. Based on this forged document, Li Zi was added to the list of employed graduates after graduation and included in the university's graduate employment statistics.

Xiao Zi, who graduated this year but has not yet found a job, said he was pressured into 'false employment' and revealed, "The staff member initially used an 'emotional appeal strategy' on me."

According to Xiao Zi, the staff member said, "If you sign a 'tripartite (company-graduate-university) agreement,' you can contribute to the school's employment rate," and "A good employment rate helps when admitting the next batch of students."

Despite this guidance, Xiao Zi selected 'flexible employment' (non-regular jobs) instead of 'preparing for employment' in the school's system under the 'employment status' category.

However, shortly after, the thesis advisor tagged Xiao Zi and two other students in the department group chat, requesting, "Those who previously marked 'flexible employment' should rewrite their employment information."

Upon logging back into the school system, Xiao Zi explained, "The employment section had been completely changed." The option to select 'employment status' was removed, and only the type of company employed at could be entered. The company's seal was also required.

The academic advisor further told Xiao Zi, "If you are in 'flexible employment' status, you must submit wage deposit information, and provincial and government agencies conduct monthly inspections at the school, but if you have an agreement, you can avoid these," adding, "Signing an employment contract lets you avoid troublesome matters."

In other words, even the academic advisor demanded the creation of the 'tripartite agreement' previously suggested by the administrative staff. He called Xiao Zi repeatedly over three days, urging him to "submit the agreement," and even sent messages saying, "As a member of the school community, you have an obligation to support school affairs."

Xiao Zi told the media, "I realized that the school was demanding employment agreements because the employment rate did not meet the target."

He had planned to take civil service exams or attend graduate school if he continued to be unemployed, but he spent several days worrying about potential disadvantages caused by the fake agreement with the company's seal.

'Fear of Major Disappearance'... 'Fake Agreement' Service Providers Also Exist

This phenomenon appears to be due to government guidelines requiring an employment rate of over 60%. In 2011, the Chinese Ministry of Education decided that university departments with graduate employment rates below 60% for two consecutive years would reduce their intake of new students. Departments with many unemployed graduates face gradual closure.

The media explained, "The 'post-graduation career implementation rate' compiled by universities consists of graduate employment rates, entrepreneurship rates, flexible employment rates, and further education rates, with employment rates used annually as evaluation data by major. Most universities have specific target employment rates."

It also reported, "Every graduation season, students who fail to find employment become the focus of counseling staff and academic advisors. In times of economic hardship, with 11.58 million graduates flooding the market, students even hear warnings that 'our major could disappear.'"

How are companies included in the 'tripartite agreement' found? Some online providers offer services to facilitate paperwork-based employment. For about 100 yuan (approximately 17,900 KRW), they create fake agreements.

According to actual online providers, a trading company was priced at 68 yuan (about 12,100 KRW), and a technology company at 88 yuan (about 15,700 KRW). The media explained, "After choosing the 68 yuan provider, we received an agreement stamped with the company's seal within three days."

Meanwhile, China has been experiencing the worst youth unemployment crisis in history since last year. According to official data, last month China's youth (ages 16?24) unemployment rate was 21.3%, surpassing May's 20.8%, marking the highest level since related statistics began in 2018.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.