More than 10 companies have been placed on a campus job fair blacklist as part of a crackdown on dodgy recruiters, the Beijing career guide center for graduates said.

A female official at the center, who refused to give her name, said Yilin Wood Company and Huanqiuweilai Technology and Development Co Ltd are on the list, but refused to name other firms.

She said the companies fall into two categories, with the first being organizations that lack official accreditation and the second being firms that scam job seekers.

The center may also blacklist organizations that sign up for campus job fairs but never show up, she said.

She said the center was tipped off about much of the malpractice following student complaints.

Huanqiuweilai Technology and Development Co Ltd was put on the list because it promised a job to a student but failed to follow through with the offer.

Meanwhile, Yilin Wood Company was a bogus organization involved in an investment scam.

Students who became sales representatives had the job of persuading people to invest 55,500 yuan in a 1 hectare of forest plot, on the fake promise that they would receive a 228,000 yuan return on their investment within seven years.

The head of the company was sentenced to 15 years in jail in June this year.

Zhang Hui, director of Beijing career guide center for graduates, said the blacklist is one of three steps of curtailing malpractice in the graduate job market.

The center plans to strengthen background checks before each campus job fair, and will stop pamphlets by authorized organizations being handed out a campus fairs.

Furthermore, the center will strengthen awareness about the rights of job seekers, Zhang said.

A teacher surnamed Wang from the student career guide center of China University of Political Science and Law said many universities hold seminars before campus job fairs to warn students about fraud.

"I am looking forward to cooperating with the Beijing career guide center for graduates when it comes to regulating the university graduate job market," she said.

(China Daily 12/03/2009 page26)