By Zhang Yikai, People’s Daily
Thanks to the policy of the local government, Yu Haiyan, an unemployed middle-aged
villager in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, has secured a job as a baby nurse
amid the COVID-19 epidemic.
Yu is from Mahe village, Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province. Her husband died of
liver cancer before the Chinese New Year, whose treatment cost all her savings and
even got her into debt.
To take care of her aged mother and son who is still at college, Yu was eager to get
back to work at a restaurant. However, her plan was disrupted by the sudden
epidemic. She was laid off at the beginning of March.
To cushion the effects of the epidemic and help people like Yu, Mudanjiang human
resources and social security bureau launched a program to bring jobs back to rural
residents.
Through WeChat groups, phone calls and home visits, the government department
introduced over 16,000 jobs to migrant workers and impoverished residents.
A recruitment advertisement for baby nurses sent to a WeChat group aroused Yu’s
interest. “I heard the baby nursing market is growing and the payment is also very
good,” Yu said. Though she wanted to give it a try, she then had no relevant
experience or skill.
A livestreaming recruitment session held by the government helped solve her
problem.
During epidemic prevention and control, Mudanjiang hosted 15 livestreaming
recruitment sessions for the socially disadvantaged groups such as migrant workers,
impoverished rural residents, the disabled and people who have difficulty finding a
job.
During one livestreaming session, Yu learnt that people with registered rural residence
like her could take courses on baby nursing at the Shiguanjia vocational school for
free. The online training fee of Yu, which stood at over 1,900 yuan (about $272), was
covered by a special fund offered by the government.
So far, Mudanjiang has given subsidies worth of over 14 million yuan to 93 such
vocational schools, training nearly 12,000 people.
According to Yu, all questions that a “newbie” would encounter as a baby nurse can
be asked in a WeChat group, such as what work shall be done as preparation, how to
get along with clients and how to relieve symptoms babies develop. “It was very
helpful for green hands like me,” she said.
In May, after completing basic training, Yu took an interview and landed a job in
Harbin, capital city of Heilongjiang.
However, due to the strict epidemic control and prevention measures in Mudanjiang at
that time, no one was allowed to leave the city.
As many trainees of the Shiguanjia vocational school, including Yu, needed to go to
Harbin for work, Yang Qiuhuan, head of the school, reached out to the Mudanjiang
human resources and social security bureau for help of arranging chartered buses to
transport migrant workers to their destinations.
Yu had a nucleic acid test as required by the health commission of Mudanjiang on
May 23 and then got on a chartered bus three days later.
The health commission disinfected the vehicles thoroughly and took the temperature
of the migrant workers, and the traffic detachment of the public security bureau
monitored the vehicles through a satellite navigation system.
Meanwhile, the buses also offered masks, infrared thermometers, disinfectant,
disposable gloves and other medical supplies.
After Yu completed her first baby nursing job in Harbin, the school recommended
another job to her in Kunshan, East China’s Jiangsu Province.
“I will get paid over 6,000 yuan per month and be provided with food and
accommodation,” said Yu with satisfaction.
