Government overhauls job classifications

347 new positions defined as 894 obsolete posts removed; green posts get recognition

China has released a new occupational classification system to keep pace with a fast-changing employment sector, and provide guidance for occupational education and job qualification criteria for burgeoning industries.

Delivery person, online security administrator and futures trader were among the 347 new positions officially defined as jobs, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said.

At the same time, 894 jobs identified as obsolete were removed from the new classification, including "dish cleaner and keeper" at restaurants.

Yin Weimin, minister of human resources and social security, said the revisions will help the country further develop occupational education and improve the quality of skilled workers.

"Occupation classification is the foundation of drafting and developing qualification criteria, which would include education background and professional skills," Yin said.

The new system will also aid authorities in collecting occupational data and conducting occupation comparisons. The ministry said it will regularly update occupation information, aiming to create more jobs by developing new occupations.

The first occupational classification system was released in 1999. Economic development, changes in society and the rise of technology led to many adjustments. The new system, which was approved on July 29, divided jobs into 1,481 occupational types, a reduction of 547 from the previous system.

For the first time, the classification covered green jobs, including those in environmental protection and the recycling sectors.

Zheng Dongliang, director of the Work Science Research Institute, a research branch of the ministry, said the new classification reflected an adjustment to China's industrial structure.

Additionally, many new jobs are from the service sector, which is contributing more to the employment market, said Zhang Daming, a senior official from Anhui province's department of human resources and social security.

The new classification also is expected to reduce red tape in job certification. China has removed 211 vocational qualification and certification requirements, including those for web advertising brokers and port cargo handling workers.

The qualifications were once required as a threshold for employees to enter the profession.

Xu Wei contributed to this story.

suzhou@chinadaily.com.cn