After six hours of traveling by train, 23-year-old Qin Zhijiang brought his cousin from a north China city to a "24-hour job-hunting apartment" in east China's Tianjin municipality to seek jobs after the Spring Festival holiday.
"We came here to find jobs after hearing that there was an apartment set up by the local government that doesn't charge for accommodation," Qin said.
Qin previously studied computer maintainance at a vocational school. Before coming to Tianjin, he took on a variety of odd jobs, including subway security guard, real estate agent and insurance salesman.
The "24-hour job-hunting apartment" is a renovated government building in Tianjin's Xiqing district. Built at a cost of 3.3 million yuan (524,000 U.S. dollars), the apartment allows migrant workers to obtain free meals and accommodation while they search for jobs in the city, even providing relevant job information.
Zhang Rufen, vice director of the Xiqing Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, said migrant workers can receive a free reception after registration, and the apartment staff can help arrange for job interviews for them according to their preferences.
"The apartment aims to provide a source of labor to ease recruiting difficulties for companies, as well as help migrant workers find a place to rest," Zhang said.
Xu Fuying, a native of east China's Shandong province, said she felt "uneasy and hesitant" when she first arrived at the apartment, but soon tracked down job vacancies after registering at the building.
"I passed an interview and physical examination for a packaging company that makes cases for well-known cell phone brands," Xu said. "I was happy to find the job."
Xu said that she was surprised to be offered a job within such a short span of time.
According to the local government, the apartment has successfully helped 23,000 job hunters obtain employment since last February, with a daily average of 2,000 people recommended for jobs since the end of this year's Spring Festival holiday.
Huang Wensheng, the apartment's manager, said many companies have sought to establish connections with the apartment in order to recruit new workers.
"Now we have set up programs with 175 enterprises and introduced workers to them according to their needs," Huang said.
Yin Zhifeng, an official from DKUIL (Tianjin) Electronics Co., Ltd. said the company recruited 500 workers within just a few days by interviewing migrants staying in the apartment.
Similar apartments will be set up in districts where companies are in dire need of laborers, according to the local government.
Xia Xueluan, a professor of sociology at Peking University, said the apartment has given a hand to migrant workers and allowed them to enter a transitionary period where they can rest and gather information.
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