WITH the city’s persistent efforts to improve the quality and expand the capacity of the housekeeping service industry, domestic services workers have been in great demand in recent years, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

Since 2019, Shenzhen has implemented the South China Home Services Program to help match surplus rural laborers and the demand for housekeeping services workers in urban areas.

Lu Jingchan from the city of Lufeng in Guangdong Province once worked at a clothing wholesale market in Dongmen, Luohu District. Although the COVID-19 pandemic affected her financially, she saw a silver lining while attending home services courses offered under the program.

These experiences have changed Lu’s life, as she has become a top-class housekeeper after the training, with her monthly income rising to 16,800 yuan (US$2,484.62) from 6,500 yuan. She is now able to shoulder her family’s financial burdens.

The city is beefing up endeavors to strengthen vocational training of home services cleaners. At present, nine of Shenzhen’s vocational and technician colleges have set up a home services-related major, and schools and enterprises have been jointly preparing skilled labor for the market.

According to statistics, the South China Home Services Program has so far trained 140,000 people, significantly improving housekeeping workers’ professional skills.

The program has also attached importance to employment training, as well as standardization and credit construction in the housekeeping service field.

At the same time, to meet citizens’ needs to take care of children and elderly people, 76 primary services stations have been set up across the city under the South China Home Services Program, providing accessible domestic services training for residents in the nearby neighborhoods.

(Xia Yuanjie)