China’s sudden pivot from “zero Covid” could provide a much-needed reboot for the country’s embattled labor market now swollen with millions of newly unemployed, especially among the nation’s youth. But a disconnect between lower-skilled workers the market needs, rather than the abundant college grads now looking for jobs, could make it hard to satisfy employers.
One company that looks well-positioned to seize on demand at the lower end of the market is Youlife International Holdings Inc., whose name has “blue collar” written all over it and filed last week for a listing in Hong Kong. The company offers not only recruitment services for blue-collar workers, but also bills itself as China’s largest provider of secondary vocational education training management services.
According to its prospectus, Youlife provides a wide range of services focused on blue collar workers, including vocational education, talent recruitment, employee management and marketing services for students, blue-collar workers and corporate clients. The company portrays itself as a one-stop shop providing services spanning every aspect of the blue-collar worker’s career.