The Tianhe District Labor and Employment Service Center was recently awarded the title of Guangzhou March 8 Red-Banner Collective for its hard work in helping women find jobs and start businesses.

Last year, 25 employment stations were established by the center, offering services like one-to-one employment consultation and guidance on receiving subsidies to unemployed single mothers, older unemployed women, and unemployed female college graduates.

A total of 2,100 women got re-employed last year with the help of these stations, and 358 million yuan ($49.73 million) in subsidies for employment and entrepreneurship were reviewed by the center.

In addition, the center took the lead in Guangzhou in launching the "skills to promote women's employment" model, which offers free skills training sessions for women struggling to find employment, helping them find jobs.

Thirty-eight-year-old Xiong Yan from Bijie, Guizhou province came to Tianhe two years ago, but couldn't find a job due to her short height and lack of skills. After joining a housekeeping training course recommended by the center and getting a job certificate, she was hired by a well-known homemaking company and was granted a skills training subsidy of about 1,000 yuan.

In 2023, more than 1,000 women found jobs after skills training, and a total of 5.35 million yuan in subsidies were granted for upgrading skills in Tianhe.

Relying on the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base, as well as 38 social entrepreneurship incubation bases and over 200 tech incubators and maker spaces, the center has established a one-stop service platform for female entrepreneurs.

Liu Yan-hsi from Hong Kong founded her high-tech enterprise in Tianhe with the support of the center. Based in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (Guangdong) Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base, her company enjoyed nearly 700,000 yuan in free rent over the course of three years.