Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province is expected to hire 16,000 graduates this year. [Photo/WeChat account: zjzsrbs]

Zhoushan in East China's Zhejiang province held a recruitment drive for university students in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province on March 19, local media reported.

The city is expected to hire 16,000 graduates this year and 100,000 university students in the coming five years, according to the local human resources and social security bureau.

A total of 26 local companies in Zhoushan have launched job fairs at the China University Of Petroleum and the Ocean University of China in Qingdao.

"The job fairs in Qingdao aim to hire talents in petrochemical engineering, shipping, marine engineering, and electronic information," said a staff member from the Zhoushan human resources and social security bureau.

According to him, 222 university students in Qingdao have expressed their interest in working in Zhoushan after graduation and have reached preliminary intention of cooperation with the city's companies.

Zhoushan has already organized several online and offline events to attract graduating students this year. As of the end of February, the city has hired 2,901 university students.

Zhoushan is now planning to organize 300 key companies in the city to launch job fairs at 30 universities in central, western, and northeastern China as well as major cities in Zhejiang.

In the first half of this year, the city will organize 31 job fairs in other cities and seven local job fairs.