A social worker shows an elderly woman how to wear a face mask properly in Zhejiang province in March. (Photo: Xinhua)

The rising demand for trained senior care professionals has prompted authorities to issue favorable policies to attract more students to major in the field.

More professionals will be trained to do household work and provide elderly care and child care in an effort to improve social services, according to a guideline recently issued by the Ministry of Education and six other departments.

The move could take the form of more preferential policies, funds, and projects to encourage students to study relevant majors, including elderly care, it said.

The National Scholarship Program, which offers 8,000 yuan ($1,130) per year for undergraduate students and 5,000 yuan per annum for vocational students, favors people studying those majors, the guideline added.

The authorities have decided to build and improve an education system for training professionals.

That has encouraged vocational schools and colleges to establish relevant majors and also prompted management personnel at related institutions to pursue further academic studies, it said.

Local education authorities should encourage training in areas of the social services sector where professionals are in short supply, and each province should have at least one university offering relevant majors, the guideline said.

People working in those areas are also being encouraged to undertake vocational training to improve their skills, it said.

Meanwhile, a draft guideline issued by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs in September said universities and vocational schools should offer more exemptions from tuition fees and provide subsidies to students majoring in elderly care.

Graduates who have worked at elderly care institutions and companies for more than three years will be eligible to claim a one-time financial reward, the guideline said, without specifying the amount.

In November 2018, the bureau issued a guideline to provide financial incentives for students and graduates in the senior care field.

After signing an agreement with their school and the Ministry of Education, students majoring in elderly services and related management have their tuition and accommodations fees waived, in addition to receiving a monthly grant of 600 yuan for 10 months during each year at school, according to the guideline.

Upon graduation, they are expected to work in a position related to their major for at least five years.

In addition, graduates of high schools, vocational schools, colleges and universities who find jobs in the senior care sector within a year of graduation and stay with that employer for two years are eligible for grants during the following three years of their employment.

The grants－paid in installments over the three years－range from 40,000 to 60,000 yuan, depending on the type of degree the graduate has earned.