China has been confronted by a tough job market in recent years. Last year, more than 7.27 million undergraduate students and graduate students graduated from college while it was reported that 67,000 private firms went under across the country in the first half of that year.

Early in May this year, the State Council, or China's cabinet, said that universities would establish compulsory and optional courses to help students learn about start-ups and also offer training such as open online courses.

Indeed, entrepreneurship has been on the rise in recent years and to some extent, self-employment has alleviated employment pressure for college grads.

But prospective entrepreneurs face excessive bureaucracy and a lack of access to financing.

To a large extent, educational authorities should be blamed for the current bad employment situation for college grads.

Many graduates say that much of what they have learned in college can hardly be put into practical use; what they have learned in class at college is outdated. Nowadays, it is quite commonplace for college students to skip classes because they feel what they are taught is useless.

Another reason why college students can't find work is that many Chinese people, consciously or unconsciously, are somewhat influenced by the antiquated saying of the philosopher Mencius: Those who toil with their minds make others work for them while those who toil with their hands serve those who use their minds.

Many students ignore technical majors while applying to a college, which results in a lack of technical workers. Last year, many companies across the IT, machinery and auto industries reportedly had great trouble recruiting enough qualified technical employees.

One possible solution for alleviating the employment pressure of college students is for them to make use of their spare time to do part-time jobs when they are at college.

By so doing, they can gain a clear understanding of what society demands and accumulate work experience and moreover shift their focus to what they need to learn at college.

According to a Xinhua report last year, many unemployed college graduates had done no internships, and a lack of work experience is the key factor in their failure to pass a job interview.

College graduates might well be encouraged to try to graduate early from college so that they may have more time to learn about various aspects of society, which can better prepare them for future challenges.

Lin Maoxian, a Shenzhen-based freelance writer and a part-time interpreter