QINGDAO’S service outsourcing association was established May 18.

    The association will connect the government with businesses, build a professional public service platform, draw up reasonable industrial rules, advance industrial self-discipline and release authoritative ranking of enterprises, according to Ma Weigang, head of the city’s commerce bureau.

    Besides, the association will have exchanges with service outsourcing enterprises, organizations and institutes at home and abroad, with the aim of boosting the city’s cooperation with the field.

    The association will also hold training, seminars and lectures on a regular basis.

    It will help its members explore the domestic and overseas markets, providing them with human resource and information services.

    On the day the association was established, the city also released its action plan to develop the service outsourcing industry for 2012.

    According to the plan, the city will focus on the construction of five service outsourcing industrial bases, including the bases in the new economic zone on the city’s west coast and Laoshan.

    In the construction of the public service platforms for the service outsourcing enterprises, the city will build four platforms this year, providing services concerning data, technology and information.

    The government will also foster and introduce professionals in the service outsourcing industry. Meanwhile, the city will strive to introduce to Qingdao the top 100 service outsourcing enterprises in the world.

    The city will push forward 10 key projects in the service outsourcing industry this year, including a software industrial park covering around 730,000 square meters and an innovative town costing over 4 billion yuan.

    Qingdao’s service outsourcing industry has been seeing a robust development since 2008. Last year saw more than US$400 million in the offshore contract volume in the industry, a 131.4 percent increase on year, according to the commerce bureau.

    There are 220 enterprises in the industry, 72 of which were established last year and provides jobs to more than 5,000 college graduates each year.

    There are more than 20,000 college graduates working in the industry.

    (Li Hao, Shen Junlin)