THE FIRST BATCH of 330 college students to major in household services graduated from Shanghai Open University on Sunday. Guangzhou Daily comments:

China's society is rapidly aging. It is estimated the population aged above 60 will account for more than 20 percent of the total population in about 10 years.

Also, after the authorities eased the family planning policy, more couples plan to have two children.

There is thus a strong demand for professional household management staff, who are qualified to take care of babies and the elderly, especially those senior citizens who are disabled and cannot care for themselves.

Reportedly, the demand for such qualified household staff has increased 30 percent annually in recent years.

The graduates majoring in household services are different from the amateur housekeepers with a college degree in the other specialties, who appeared as early as 10 years ago because of the difficulty in finding a job related to their college major. Aside from acquiring practical skills and techniques, the Shanghai graduates have also learned about psychology and nutrition, among other things.

More and more middle class families have higher requirements for the quality of the household services they pay for, which actually includes a variety of skills that entail training.

Most job seekers in this field previously lacked such professional training. No wonder the Shanghai Open University's graduates, the first batch to major in the field in China, have proved popular in the employment market.

More universities are expected to offer a similar course in the future to satisfy the market demand. This trend will change the household services market for the better, as it will become more professional and mature.