High Expectations Keep Young Migrant Workers from Blending in to City Life

A recent nationwide survey indicates that unlike their parents, the new generation of migrant workers has higher level of education, greater ego, and more spiritual and material needs. They prefer to integrate into city life by aiming for long-term careers and an urban home. But experts say they have a long way to go before they can really blend in. CRI Wu Jia has the report.

The new generation of migrant workers refers to those who were born in the 1980s or 1990s and left their rural hometowns and villages to flock to cities in hopes of starting a career.

Statistics indicate that the number of migrant workers in China has exceeded 220 million, 60 percent of whom belong to the new generation of migrant laborers.

When interviewed, more than half of them expressed expectations of becoming urban residents.

Liu Ming is from Little Bird, a legal aid agency for migrant workers. He talks about one of the most notable differences between the new generation of migrant workers and their predecessors.

"The older generation went to cities to earn money to take back home and never thought about integrating into city life. As for the young, the objective has changed. What they want is to plant roots in cities. They want to buy houses, get married and raise children there."

But to blend in cities is not all plain sailing for them. Compared with their urban peers, young migrant workers face more practical difficulties, with adequate and affordable housing as their first and foremost challenge.

Although the government has launched a pilot project in some cities to offer subsidized housing to some migrant workers, nearly 70 percent of those interviewed say it's getting harder for them to find affordable housing in overcrowded cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

On the other hand, these workers generally have a comparatively higher level of education, although their occupational skills are still poor.

Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, points out that many vocational education programs intended for migrant workers are not pertinent.

"Vocational education is developing but it's still in the initial stage. Many positions are unstable. Some migrant workers haven't received any vocational guidance so that they shift blindly from job to job."

Liu Ming from the legal aid agency says migrant workers are a disadvantaged group in cities.

"At home in the countryside they can go to relatives or friends whenever they encounter difficulties. But in a strange place, they may feel at a loss and helpless when there are few friends around."

He suggests that migrant workers accumulate more social resources to get better involved in city life. Only in this way will they be able to feel less disconnected and stressed.

For CRI, I'm Wu Jia.