農村和小城鎮出身的畢業生面臨巨大就業挑戰

Chen Chenggong’s family back in Ningde, Fujian province, has always been proud of his accomplishments. The 22-year-old graduate of Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture is the first in his hometown to enter a college in Beijing.

陳成功的老家在福建省寧德市，他一直是家裏人的驕傲。今年22歲的他剛從北京建築大學畢業，是他們老家第一個考到北京的大學生。

However, Chen still finds that the white-collar lifestyle remains far out of reach.

不過陳成功發現白領生活還是遙不可及。

“I was raised to believe a college degree was a sure route to a comfortable life. But after months of searching for a job, I only receive offers with salaries lower than what factory workers earn. It’s as if I never went to college at all,” he said.

“我從小就被灌輸上了大學就能過上好日子的思想。但是找了幾個月的工作，我只找到了一些比工廠工人的工資還低的工作。這樣算起來大學是白唸了，“他說。

It is a dilemma echoed by other rural and small town students. Once graduation rolls around, they face more difficulties climbing up the social ladder than their urban peers.

這是農村和小城鎮學生面臨的困境。一旦臨近畢業，他們登上更高社會階層的難度比城市同齡人大得多。

According to a 2014 report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the unemployment rate among college graduates from urban families is about 12 percent, while for graduates from rural backgrounds it’s 30 percent.

2014年中國社會科學院的一項報告顯示：城市家庭出生大學的畢業生的失業率爲12%，而來自農村的大學畢業生失業率爲30%。

A separate 2014 report by the China Youth & Children Research Center points out a similar gap between small town and urban graduates.

2014年另一份由中國青少年研究會提供的報告指出小城鎮和城市畢業生之間也有類似的差距。

Roadblocks to success

成功不易

This gap is one of the clearest expressions of the hardening barriers to social mobility, according to Tian Feng, the report’s lead researcher. She explains social mobility as a person’s ability to move from one class to another.

該報告的首席研究者田豐認爲，這種差距恰好是社會流動性降低的表現之一。她將社會流動性解釋爲人從一個階層流動到另一個階層的能力。

“The current social mobility in China is low. Many urban graduates, with their well-off parents’ social networking, have a better chance to secure a decent job. Their family’s already privileged social status is quickly passed on to the next generation in this form,” she said.

“當前中國的社會流動性很低。許多城市畢業生憑藉父母的人脈關係有機會找到體面的工作。通過這種方式，他們家庭享有的社會特權很快就能傳遞給下一代，“她說。

While this trend could easily be dismissed as only affecting individuals, it actually has a major impact on social equity on the macro level, said Liu Jingming, a professor of sociology at Tsinghua University.

清華大學社會學系教授劉精明認爲：如果只是某些個體受到影響，這種風氣很容易被打破，但事實上它已經從宏觀層面影響了社會平等。

“Low social mobility will ultimately result in class solidification. When that happens, not only will individuals have little chance to move up the social pyramid, their offspring will also be less likely to end up in a different class, enjoying better social resources and opportunities,” he said.

“低社會流動性最終會導致階層固化。一旦階層固化，不僅個人沒有機會爬到社會金字塔的上端，他們的後代也將無法實現階層流動，享受更好的社會資源和機會，“他說。

Though he has met difficulties, Chen doesn’t lose faith in his future. And he finally gets a job at a Beijing-based architecture design institute.

儘管陳成功面臨不少困難，但他並未喪失對未來的信心。最終他獲了了北京某建築設計研究院的工作。

“Compared to previous generations, I’ve already gotten the chance to experience the world outside of our village. I got to know all sorts of information online. And I also made my own connections,” he said.

“和上一輩比，我有機會看到我們村子之外的世界。我能從互聯網上學到知識。我也能建立自己的社會關係，“他說。

Different mind set

換種思路

Li Chunling, a professor of sociology at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, encourages all graduates to share that kind of resilient spirit.

中國社會科學院社會學研究所研究員李春玲鼓勵所有的畢業生保持樂觀的精神。

She attributes the disadvantages of coming out of small towns and rural areas to the lack of socialization. It can be remedied in college and later in life, as students broaden their horizons, develop their own social networks and pick up social skills they once lacked.

她將出生農村地區和小城鎮的弊端歸結爲缺乏社交資源。只要學生開闊了眼界，發展出自己的社交網絡，學會了他們缺乏的社交技能，這是可以在大學和未來生活中彌補的。

“Our research has shown that the rural-urban employment gap mainly exists in the first two years after graduation,” she said.

“我們的研究顯示農村和城市畢業生就業率差距主要集中在畢業的頭兩年，“她說。

Students with rural backgrounds have their advantages too. “They are tough and have a lot of perseverance, which can help them in bridging that gap,” she said.

農村背景的學生也有他們的優勢。“他們更堅韌，更有毅力，這是他們填平差距的法寶，“她說。