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Laid-off Women Refreshed in Business Incubator
Zhang Aiping, once was laid-off from her job in north China's Tianjin City, has opened her own axletree factory.
Now, acting as a single mother at home and a director outside home makes her as busy as a bee, yet she seems to enjoy her new way of life very much.
"After eight years of life leaving my original factory, I treasure what I now have very much," said Zhang.
Zhang lost her job in a hat factory in 1993. She served as saleswoman for machinery parts, took up temporary jobs in some enterprises to make ends meet, but she has always wanted to start her own career.
The business incubator center, set up in Tianjin on October 18 last year, brought her the opportunity.
The center, a joint effort of the Tianjin Municipal Women's Federation, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Australian Agency for International Development, was established to help those women who have been laid-off from their job in the city to help them reestablish themselves by opening their own firms. Zhang, luckily, was among the first to be approved to set up a firm there.
The center supplies Zhang with low-cost workshops and office facilities including fax machines, telephones, and computers to help the women who started from scratch.
Zhang was green when it came to engage in business operation and management, but she was confident.
"I had dreamed of having my own company in the past eight years, but deficiency of funds and information made the dream impossible. With the help of the center, I know my long-time dream can come true."
"Business Incubator" concept was first introduced into China from abroad in 1987. So far, the Tianjin center has been the first of its kind among the country's over 100 enterprise incubators.
To help the women build up their self-confidence, the center also launched short-term programs on e-commerce, risk investment, management, property rights, giving the women information on the latest technological developments. It also held training programs on hairdressing, knitting and sewing to help more women who have been laid-off find jobs. So far, 23 enterprises have been established in the center, most dealing in labor-intensive industries or trade, such as textile factories and family services.
Macleod Nyirongo, senior deputy resident representative of UNDP Beijing Office, said the center was a pilot project, if proven to be a success and it will introduce the practice to other provinces and cities.
"Women in China are very hard working and well-organized. Given what they need, they will work as well as or even better than men, " said Nyirongo.
Wang Shengyun, a director of a woolen sweater factory in the center, has expanded her factory several times in just a few months. She is now trying to put her products to the international market, aiming to have more foreign customers to put on the delicately designed sweaters made by Chinese women.
She often encourages her employees with what she has experienced. "I was worried as well at the beginning, not sure whether I could carry on or not. Now I want to tell you all that we can do it. "
The latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics showed laid-off workers nationwide by the end of 2000 had reached some 6.57 million, with women accounting for at least 50 percent.
An official with the Tianjin Municipal Women's Federation said 60 percent of some 320,000 laid-off workers in the city are women.
Low educational levels and a heavy household burden still made it difficult for women to be re-employed.
The UNDP official said the Chinese government has always been committed to solving the problems that have occurred in social and economic development, such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and the school dropout rate in rural areas. The UNDP would like to cooperate with the country to help them to solve the problems.
Official statistics show that some 3.61 million laid-off workers have found jobs last year.
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