The Shock of the New
China’s massive and sustained economic growth has triggered dramatic changes in its society. One phenomenon is the huge influx of rural migrant workers into cities. Some have arrived in search of employment, others have lost their land as the cities have expanded, but almost all lack the essential skills or abilities which they need to compete in the urban job market.
Microsoft has teamed with the Beijing Xicheng District Library in the local community to assist migrant workers. In July 2004, the company launched Unlimited Potential in China. The objective is to help remove employment disadvantages for unskilled migrant workers by training them in basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at Community Technology Centers (CTC), and facilitate their integration with local communities.
The Partnership that Makes it Work
The first CTC was piloted at the Beijing Xicheng District Library. The Beijing Xicheng District Communist Youth League recruited migrant workers and volunteers; the Beijing Xicheng District Library provided an accessible venue and hospitable staff for the CTC; PlaNET Finance, an international non-government agency, project-managed the enterprise; and the White Pigeon Young Volunteers Association of the Beijing Normal University provided volunteers to assist in training. Microsoft provided a three-year grant for this project including cash, software, and curriculum. Microsoft employees actively participated in the project by working as assistants to the trainers and giving lectures on various subjects to the local community during weekends.
An informal program of basic computer skills is offered to disadvantaged or disabled members of the general public. Coaching is responsive to the limited abilities of the participants, and some are taught how to use phonetic input methods to type Chinese characters.
Getting the Right People
The courses are advertised across the Xicheng district, and participants are selected according to the criteria developed by project partners. Training is delivered by volunteers who have themselves been selected on a competitive basis.
In the initial 12-month operational period, the CTC expanded its training from 80 migrant workers per class to 120 per class, and provided computer skills training to 280 migrant workers and 80 elderly and blind people. The courses also address non-technical skills deficiencies. Migrant workers who have no experience of business protocol receive “etiquette training” which includes how to behave in a business-like manner, and how to behave at interviews. At the end of the formal courses, graduation ceremonies are held, at which the migrants present some of their work or even perform in talent shows organized by themselves. The CTC has also provided informal training to more than 9,000 members of the general public.
Sustainable Development
The Chinese CTCs have been conceived with the intention that they will shortly become commercially viable. The partners are in the process of developing a sustainable model whereby fees generated from non-formal training will be used to subsidize formal training for the migrant workers when the grant runs out. The CTC has already received commitments from the White Pigeon Association to further support the training, and some migrants are working as volunteers to help their peers in this learning process.
The CTC at the Beijing Xicheng District Library represents a multi-party effort to assist the government in addressing a tiny fraction of the migrant workers’ issues and building a harmonious society. With examples of migrant workers unleashing their potential and success of the multi-party cooperation model, the CTC hopes more organizations will participate in and contribute to similar projects. Ultimately, it is the sustained and coordinated efforts of all stakeholders that will effectively address the migrant workers’ issues and help realize their full potential.
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