A local university in Shanghai is offering a total of 100,000 yuan (US$14,624) in travel subsidies to students who go to find work in other cities.

Graduates with Shanghai Ocean University can receive 100 yuan to 500 yuan if they are granted an interview by an employer from outside Shanghai.

The university will also grant a subsidy of 10,000 yuan to each student or team starting a company that hires more than three recent graduates of the school.

Students who sign contracts with companies in Gansu, Guizhou and Yunnan provinces as well as the autonomous regions of Tibet and Xinjiang will receive a 2,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan award.

A 5,000 yuan award will be granted to students who sign at least a four-year contract with aquatics products firms.

The policy was welcomed by the university's graduates because of the high cost of getting a job.

"It costs a lot to get a job," said Vikky Wang, who became an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers after spending 3,000 yuan on new clothes for interviews, a resume photo, transport and telephone interview fees.

Universities in the city have introduced other policies to help students secure jobs.

Letters of recommendation from professors proved popular.

"Compared with lectures and recruitment fairs, recommendation letters will be more direct and helpful," said Wu Mingzhe, a senior student at Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade.

(Shanghai Daily February 26, 2009)