More help for the disabled to get jobs

The National Development and Reform Commission has issued a notice with five other organizations, calling for local authorities to provide more assistance to people with disabilities and help them land a job.

The authorities should stabilize and expand the employment of people with disabilities, and increase "recruitment inclusiveness and flexibility", the notice said.

It requires them to strengthen skills training for people with disabilities, and support public training bases in opening training programs designed for them.

The bases should offer training courses in rural areas and make vigorous efforts to help disabled people master practical skills, the notice said.

Different regions should take into account their own conditions and cultivate labor-intensive industries, it said, adding that they should also develop jobs in sectors such as e-commerce, handicraft and livestream shopping, which are more suitable for people with disabilities.

It also said that the authorities concerned should make use of the central budgetary funds to support the construction of provincial-level hospitals specialized in massage services provided by the visually impaired, and urged regions to develop online and at-home jobs for people with disabilities.

They should encourage e-commerce platforms to provide convenience and reduce or waive service fees for disabled people who are working or starting their own businesses on those platforms.

The notice also called for the implementation of favorable policies, such as tax incentives and subsidies for companies that recruit people with disabilities.

Plan to recruit 7,000 'silver-age' teachers

China will recruit 7,000 teachers this year for students receiving compulsory education in less developed counties under its Silver-age Teacher plan.

The plan, launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Finance, is aimed to improve the teaching of schools in less developed rural areas by recruiting retired principals and teachers to work there for a certain period.

Those who are recruited should work for at least an academic year, the two ministries said in a notice they issued recently. Educational authorities of counties where the retired teachers will work should sign a one-year-long service agreement with them.

The ministries encouraged "silver-age teachers" who have passed the schools' assessment to continue their service.

These teachers will continue to enjoy their pensions while working for the plan. They will also be paid monthly for their work in the new schools.

AI model to support disaster prevention

The Ministry of Emergency Management has launched an AI large model to support disaster prevention and emergency response.

The large model, called "Jiu'an", has "absorbed massive professional knowledge of dangerous chemicals, coal mines, forest fires, safety law enforcement and other businesses, and uses domestic large models and emergency cloud computing power for enhanced training", the ministry said.

The model is able to automatically detect safety risks, including those of dust explosion and urban waterlogging, from a large amount of video surveillance content, and help grassroots law enforcers identify hazards and make safety checklists, the ministry said.

It can also help with the emergency response to accidents related to dangerous chemicals and forest fires, and answer inquiries about relevant knowledge, data, images and videos.

The ministry said it will take advantage of the model, focus on the practical needs of emergency management, expand the application of the model to more scenarios, and build an "intelligent emergency response brain".