Guanshanhu improves employment and expands care for residents

Guanshanhu district in Guiyang, capital of Southwest China's Guizhou province, has strengthened employment support and expanded services for older people and young children over the past five years as part of efforts to improve residents' quality of life.

The district has recorded 69,600 new urban jobs and helped 14,400 rural workers find employment outside their home areas. It also supported 2,300 people facing employment difficulties in finding work and helped 14,200 unemployed people return to employment. Through ongoing monitoring and assistance, it kept households with no employed members at zero.

To connect jobseekers with employers, Guanshanhu has organized online and in-person recruitment events and promoted targeted job matching. It has also supported entrepreneurship through business incubation facilities, training programs, and one-on-one guidance from entrepreneurship mentors, aiming to help new businesses grow and create more jobs.

The district has simultaneously expanded care services for older residents and young children.

Over the past five years, it has completed age-friendly modifications in 232 homes of elderly residents with special needs and established 74 elderly care service facilities. Nursing beds account for 66.3 percent of beds at elderly care institutions.

The district has also continued to develop a mix of institutional, home-based, and community care, with regular visits and support for those living alone, older adults without family support and other people in need. Services include health checks and home adaptations to make daily living safer.

Services for young children have also increased. For families with young children, Guanshanhu is promoting more diverse childcare options and group-based operations for public childcare institutions to help ease the pressures of finding affordable care. It also organizes child-protection services and public-interest family-friendly activities. Guanshanhu now has 42 childcare institutions with an enrollment capacity of 3,400 children.