New profession launched to improve handling of veterans' affairs

The Ministry of Veterans Affairs has launched a pilot program in Ordos, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, allowing for the new profession of "veterans' affairs service worker" to handle veterans affairs in a more dedicated, professional and stable manner.

During the launch ceremony earlier this month, personnel who finished a 5-day training session were awarded credentials as the first officially recognized veterans affairs service workers in Ordos. Five other pilot locations, including Quanzhou in Fujian province and Guiyang in Guizhou province, held similar sessions.

They have been trained in organizing veterans for skills trainings, collecting their feedback and complaints and recommending them for jobs, among other tasks.

Accredited last year by several government agencies including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, veterans' affairs service worker is the first new profession overseen by the Veterans Affairs Ministry, which was established in 2018.

The recognition of the new profession and the training of practitioners will help establish a more comprehensive system and boost the efficiency of veterans work, said Ma Feixiong, vice-minister of veterans affairs, adding it will maintain and enlarge a more stable team in the sector, as well as improve the capability of grassroots workers.

According to statistics released by the ministry last year, China has some 624,000 service centers or stations to serve veterans, with nearly 1 million full-time or part-time workers, but only about 110,000 of them are covered by government budgets.

The development of the new profession will help practitioners enhance their capabilities, build a clear upward channel for careers and improve their salary and welfare, the Guiyang Veterans Affairs Bureau said in a statement on Tuesday.