Nurturing success

Ning Erjian, head of the home services sector at a company in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, wrapped up his Spring Festival holiday early this year and has already returned to work to process a large influx of orders.

Nine years ago, Ning was admitted to the home economics major at Jilin Agricultural University in Northeastern Jilin province. Like most of his classmates, this major was not his first choice.

"I had never heard of home economics back then, but after researching online and discovering the country's increasing focus on the home services industry, I decided to pursue it," the 27-year-old recalled.

Wu Ying, dean of the School of Home Economics at Jilin Agricultural University, explained that the university established China's first undergraduate program in home economics in 2003, foreseeing that the home services industry would prosper as the country placed more emphasis on people's welfare.

"Although the home services market was not very prosperous at that time and our program faced challenges in student employment and internships, we believed that one of a university's missions is to cultivate talent for emerging industries, so we persisted," she said.

As a pioneer in home economics, the school offers more than 40 courses, including core subjects such as family nursing, family nutrition, family psychology, and home economics industry services and management. Students also take optional courses such as home design, flower arrangement and tea art.

"We are committed to nurturing talent that meets the increasingly diverse and specialized market demand. In addition to theoretical courses, students are required to complete practical assignments, such as conducting cognitive assessments of the elderly. We also mandate internships at nursing homes, home services companies, and training institutes," Wu said.

"During the summer vacation of 2019, I interned at a domestic services company in Nanjing through a teacher's recommendation. This experience helped me gain an in-depth understanding of how home services companies operate, which sparked my interest in the industry. After graduation, I joined my current company," Ning said.

"I think my biggest achievement during college was improving my knowledge and skills in domestic service, developing teamwork and communication abilities, and cultivating the habit of thinking independently and creatively," he added.

"Our graduates have two main career pathways: one is to become training instructors for home services enterprises and vocational school teachers, while the other is to enter management positions at home services companies," Wu said.

With an annual graduate employment rate exceeding 95 percent, the university has seen a surge in students choosing home economics as their first major.

Currently, Ning is busy recruiting sales and home services personnel, developing standardized work processes, training sales teams and service workers, and providing quality services to customers. As a manager, he also conducts regular follow-up visits to learn about customers' needs to optimize the user experience.

After graduating, Ning earned a monthly salary of 6,000 yuan with commission. Six months later, his income exceeded 10,000 yuan, and after a year, he secured a management position.

"I feel very fortunate that I enrolled in this major. Otherwise, it would be difficult for a graduate from an ordinary university to have the income and position I have now," he said.