Co-authored by Tian Bo, Plan International China
In 2016, China decided to end its longstanding one-child policy and allow couples to have two children. With the new two-child policy in effect, it is estimated that three million more babies will be born annually into China over the next five years.
To prepare for the increased demand for maternity resources, Chinese authorities have committed to improving the country's maternal and newborn healthcare services and have urged universities and medical schools to train more midwives and pediatricians.
Increasing maternity human resources is also proving to be extremely beneficial for young women like Dongmei and Junli – both from China’s rural areas who have moved to big cities in search of work. Both women represent a new generation of migrant workers in China who are entering the workforce at an early age and are struggling to find and retain meaningful work and a decent income.
Now with the presence of maternity training courses, both women are forming a new workforce of nurses and birth attendants in China, equipped and trained to manage the growth and demand for maternal care in the country.
“Chinese parents like to invest in their children’s education and care. Now that each family is allowed to have two children, I believe there will be an increased demand on postnatal and infant care,” says Dongmei (29), who returned to school to become an infant nurse after working as a Chinese tea server.
From traditional tea server to infant nurse
Dongmei enrolled in an infant care training course provided by Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine with support from Plan International.
“After receiving my certificate, I will work in a maternity centre to gain experience. In the future, I plan to start my own child care business. I want to help mothers raise their babies in a healthy manner,” she adds.
Plan International’s infant training course is just one of the organisation’s youth employment projects targeting migrant young people, particularly women, in Beijing and Chengdu cities.
“In Chengdu, we are piloting a project that provides work opportunities for youth who have migrated from rural areas. The project is expected to benefit some 800 young people,” says Liu Feng, Programme Specialist for Plan International’s Youth Employment Solutions initiative.
According to the 2015 China’s Migrant Worker’s Development Report, there are some 247 million migrant people currently in China. 51 per cent were born after 1980, and are considered to be China’s new-generation of migrant workers.
Due to increased economic demands, a large portion of children belonging to migrant families will leave school and begin working from as young as sixteen years of age.
Work opportunities for female migrant workers
With low educational attainment, and lacking the social skills required by the competitive labour force, many of the new-generation migrant youth struggle to find stable work and receive a decent income. Without financial security, many are unable to support their families and children.
To tackle this issue, Plan International in China has started working with the Government, the private sector, local organisations and vocational schools to provide relevant technical training to unemployed migrant youth.
"I want to make my life better with my hardworking hands. I have been working for the past ten years to achieve my goal," says Junli, a 26-year-old young woman from China, who once worked in a clothing factory and as a night waitress before pursuing training to become a nurse.
After graduating from high school, Junli's elder brother secured a job for her in a clothing factory in Zhejiang Province, almost 2,000 km from her hometown. With misfortune, the garment shop went out of business just a few months after she arrived.
"My wages for months of work went unpaid. I could not even afford a ticket back to my hometown. If I knew something about labour law, this would not have happened," Junli adds.
Instead of going home, Junli made her way to the capital city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province.
Junli found a job as a night waitress, receiving 2200 Yuan per month (about USD $350 dollars). She worked 12 hours a day, and only had two days off per month. Junli found it hard to sleep during the day and struggled to work at night: "I got headaches and finally quit my job."
She decided to learn a new skill in the hopes of finding a more satisfying job. After searching the internet, she came across child care classes and enrolled in a training course supported by Plan International and the Chengdu Qing Yang District Government of Sichuan Province.
Reaching girls like Junli and Dongmei, Plan International’s projects will provide vocational training to some 1,600 young people (aged 16 to 29) in market-driven industries including nursing, nutrition and customer service.
“There are 24 trainees going through the infant care training course in Chengdu, which lasts for 45 days,” explains Feng.
"I am planning on becoming a confinement nurse after I get my certificate,” Junli says. “With my new knowledge, together with my hard work, my future will be better.”