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| China holds prisoner job fair |
| By Xinhua |
| Published: 07/20/2006 |
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BEIJING, CHINA - Inmates in China's prisons, who are to be released soon, are being headhunted by companies to prepare them for their reintroduction to society. Three hundred and seventy four inmates attended the job fair of eight companies, organized by the Qingyuan prison in Beijing this week - the first time Chinese companies in Beijing have turned to prisons for employees, according to Wednesday's Beijing Youth Daily. By the end of the fair, 66 people had received job offers and 18 had signed letters of intent with the employers. The inmates will be released in three days to three months. "The event was organized to help these people to earn their own living and be better prepared for going back to society," said Yang Jie, deputy director of Qinghe Division of Beijing Prison Administration Bureau. The job vacancies included storage keeper, security guard, elevator operator, postman and driver. And the monthly salaries varied from 600 yuan to 1500 yuan (about 187.5 US dollars). A lady, who declined to give her name, from Beijing Jintongda labor services company, said ex-convicts work hard according to one of her friends who has employed an ex-convict in his company. "Ex-convicts need the help of society. The likelihood of them committing crimes again will be lowered if they have regular work," she added. A head of another company who has employed several ex-convicts said he wouldn't let other employees in his company know that someof their colleagues were ex-convicts. He also said he would choosetheir positions carefully. "I definitely wouldn't give them the chance to reoffend," he said. "For instance, I would never let a person who had committed theft to be in charge of the storage." However, some inmates did not attend the fair. One of them saidhe plans to conceal the fact he has spent in prison. He is worriedothers will not accept him if they know his past. A survey conducted by the Beijing Prison Administration Bureau among 200 prisoners showed that 76.1 percent of the inmates were willing to work after leaving the prison. "Being accepted by society is essential for the ex-convicts to make a fresh start, which is vital to the stability and harmony ofsociety," Yang said. Qingyuan prison has also set up a job-hunting training room for prisoners. It is designed to assess the careers to which they are suited and it will be used to conduct mock interviews. There are around 3,000 inmates being released every year in Beijing. |
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