"In the past, regional labor partnerships were only established between like administrative entities, such as between cities. Shenzhen is taking the lead in communicating directly with both provinces and cities." says Song Xianhua, director of the employment office of Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security.

The "Golden Road" Project

Shenzhen has for years been a dream employment destination for rural youth in southern China. Statistics put over 7 million laborers in Shenzhen today, the overwhelming majority of whom were former farmers. However, as more and more inland regions open to the outside, many laborers are sidestepping Shenzhen and moving elsewhere.

The so-called "Golden Road" project presents what they hope will be a lasting solution to the labor shortage problem. According to Song, Shenzhen will adopt a "talent reserve" policy in the near future, that is, to entrust labor supply and training to corresponding labor sources when workers with particular skills are needed. Experiments on the policy are presently being carried out in areas such as Heyuan in Guangdong province.

Huang Zaoji, deputy director of Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Labor and Social Security, thinks that the project is a breakthrough in widening partnerships outside the Pearl River Delta.

More Moves to Go

Some analysts believe that, to a large extent, the said "recruitment agreement" between local governments shows the governments' determination to openly interfere with the labor market. According to Guan Lingen, director of Shenzhen Municipal Burea of Labor and Social Security, a lot more must be done concerning labor service cooperation to thoroughly solve the outstanding labor shortage problem.

Guan first pointed out that labor service cooperation and rural laborer employment should be pursued in regional economic and social development programming.

Secondly, local governments need to establish a lasting system for labor supply and demand information. Such labor service cooperation expos, such as the one held recently in Shenzhen, should be conducted on a regular basic.