Chapter 1388 Talent Recruitment
"In the urban area of Kitwe, a preliminary transformation has been carried out. By the end of this year, a dozen large and medium-sized enterprises and hundreds of small workshop-style production enterprises have been closed, which has greatly reduced the industrial production waste in Kitwe."
This was basically the focus of the Kitwe City Government throughout 1921, which had a great impact on the city's fiscal revenue and made it impossible to make up for these gaps in the first place.
The city of Kitwe has also not been without gains. After shutting down a number of the most polluting enterprises and numerous small workshops, the urban area of Kitwe has ushered in long-awaited new changes.
Although you can still see towering chimneys emitting smoke into the sky in Kitwe City, it no longer covers half of the sky over the city as it once did.
In the past, on certain days, visibility in Kitwe city would drop significantly due to industrial production. Although it was not as exaggerated as in London, it was enough to threaten the health of citizens.
Now, Kitwe's industry has declined drastically, and these surviving factories are the arteries of Kitwe and play an irreplaceable role, at least in the short term.
For these enterprises, the Kitwe City Government's policy is to make changes where possible and provide assistance in other areas at the same time.
In the past, half of Kitwe was surrounded by thick smoke, but now the air emissions in Kitwe are more like a few strokes of ink on a white paper, which is quite poetic.
Replacing those seriously polluting production enterprises are enterprises and institutions whose main business is various consumer and commercial services. Although they are not enough to replace those banned factories, they have also prevented the economy of Kitwe City from being too bad.
You know, now affected by the economic depression, the entire East African economy is in a stage of stagflation, so Debern does not want to see Kitwe City cause market panic and lead to a chain reaction due to overly biased policies.
However, the current economic situation in Kitwe has caused widespread complaints from citizens, who are full of grievances against Debern.
DeBern is well aware of his drastically declining public support, but he is not someone who is easily swayed by external rumors and short-term difficulties.
In fact, there are less than two years left in Debern's term, and he will most likely retreat to the second line before the end of the Five-Year Plan.
DeBern's conscience told him that his actions were generally sound and that he was considering Kitwe from a long-term perspective. Otherwise, the unchanging Kitwe would most likely decline quietly and become a marginal city in East Africa.
So DeBern said: "Nowadays, it is impossible to stop the economic transformation, and if the film and television industry can be established in Kitwe, it will be a great thing for Kitwe City."
“In January next year, the municipal government will organize personnel to visit Mombasa and Rhine to investigate the film and television industry, and try to attract some relevant practitioners to start businesses and develop in Kitwe.”
“Especially for the talents in higher education in Rhine City, that is, those students who are about to graduate from school with excellent academic performance, Kitwe City should provide them with a good development environment. Whether it is starting a business or working, they should feel the sincerity of Kitwe City.”
"In the city, we support the film and television industry at two levels. One is the official level, where the city radio station assigns a group of personnel to set up a city television station."
“At the private sector level, we will introduce private enterprises to Kitwe to invest in film and television industry projects and increase cooperation with Mombasa and Rhine…”
To be honest, DeBern was completely clueless about how to develop the film and television industry. After all, the film and television industry is an emerging industry and a new thing all over the world. Its embryonic form was only in the 1980s and 1990s, and it was formally formed at the beginning of this century.
Therefore, Debern could only try his best to find "professionals" to help Kitwe build a platform for the development of the film and television industry. However, as the saying goes, different trades require different talents. Precisely because he did not know enough about the film and television industry, he could only lean on the upper side as much as possible.
For example, Kitwe City Radio Station is one of Kitwe's industries. DeBern believes that this should be the unit in the city that is most closely related to the film and television industry, so asking them to assist the Kitwe City Government in building a TV station is not a bad solution.
Currently, there are only four TV stations in East Africa, two of which are in the capital, Rhineland, followed by one each in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam.
This shows how niche television is in East Africa at present, and it can even be said to be a rare new thing.
Therefore, in addition to his own efforts, Debern could only learn from the three cities of Rhineland, Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, introduce technology and personnel, and thus build a platform.
Especially college students in Rhine City, they are the best talent option for Kitwe City to attract.
Therefore, in early 1922, the Kitwe Municipal Government officially launched the action of introducing and building the film and television industry.
Debern personally led the team to Rhine City and went to the National University of Communication, Film Academy, and Art Academy to recruit talents.
Kitwe's initial actions went very smoothly. The film and television industry is an emerging industry, but many people in East Africa are not aware of this. This allowed Kitwe to take advantage of the opportunity. After all, if other cities, especially big cities, were competing with Kitwe, there would be no need for Kitwe to bother.
Not to mention those economically strong cities with a population of over one million, Kitwe cannot even compete with cities of the same population size as Maputo and Benguela.
As for Kitwe City's recruitment and cooperation, relevant universities or units in East Africa are also quite welcoming. At present, the film and television industry is still small, but the potential is huge, so even the film and television industry in Rhine City is not afraid of competition.
The situation in colleges and universities is even more pure. Students can find jobs immediately after graduation and receive support from the government, which is a good thing no matter how you look at it.
Today, because of the relatively high level of higher education in East Africa, the number of college students in East Africa is far lower than that in other countries.
After all, things are valuable because they are scarce. The number of college students in East Africa has always ranked first in the world, so it is naturally impossible for it to be completely monopolized by the elite class like in other countries.
Kitwe City Job Fair.
"Classmate, are you interested in developing in our city of Kitwe?" Deborn personally served as a staff member of the job fair, recruiting people on the campus of Communication University.
"What is Kitwe City?" asked a university student.
It is no wonder that some people ask this question. Kitwe City is actually not that well-known in East Africa. After all, there are nearly a thousand cities in East Africa, and Kitwe City is only at an upper-middle level, or even in the top 100. But even so, it is not an exaggeration to say that Kitwe City is mediocre.
Although Kitwe is known as the second largest city in the Copper Belt and also appears in East African middle school geography textbooks, when it comes to the Copper Belt, Lubumbashi is the more representative city.
Therefore, Debern patiently explained: "Our Kitwe City is indeed not well-known, but its economic level is still not bad in the country. I believe you should have heard of the Copper Belt! Our Kitwe City is the second largest city in the Copper Belt."
"Now I understand what you said. The copper belt? The industrial area where Lubumbashi is located." said the college student.
This made Mayor Deborn feel a little frustrated, but this was normal. Lubumbashi was one of the top ten cities in the country and was also a provincial capital. The latter alone was enough to make him well-known throughout East Africa.
DeBern said: "Yes, we are the city next to Lubumbashi. Although our city is next to Lubumbashi, Lubumbashi belongs to the Swabia Province, while our city of Kitwe belongs to the Central Province."
The reason why the latter is emphasized is so that people will not think that the unknown city of Kitwe is in a remote area, and that the Central Province is equivalent to the Zhili Province in East Africa.
However, there are also many cities in the Central Province. In addition to Rhine City, the capital of East Africa with the most special status, there are also big cities such as New Frankfurt, Lusaka, and Kabwe.
Debern went on to say: "Kitwe is a city with a relatively developed economy and a good environment. Transportation is also relatively convenient. Our city is located between Lubumbashi, New Frankfurt and Rhine City."
"You have to know that Lubumbashi and New Frankfurt are both large cities with a population of over one million and are ranked in the top ten in the country in terms of economy. Located between these two cities, the economy of Kitwe City is naturally not bad, but because of its relatively small size, it is not significant."
"Our city is only a little over 100 kilometers away from Rhine City. It only takes three hours to get there by rail..."
At this time, Debern regretted not bringing a map of Central Province, otherwise it would be easier for him to explain the situation in Kitwe City.
One student asked, "Is this a job fair organized by your municipal government? It's not even graduation season yet."
DeBern said: "Of course, I am the mayor of Kitwe. Here is my ID."
As he spoke, Debern took out his work ID to prove his point, which really surprised the students of the Communication University.
After all, it was the first time they had seen a department-level official like Debern, who personally went to the playground to serve as a job fair staff member and had a kind and friendly attitude, especially the mayor of a city.
One thing you need to know here is that mayors in East Africa are also divided into large and small sizes. There is no county administrative division under the prefecture-level cities in East Africa, so directly under the prefecture-level cities are towns.
The mayor of a prefecture-level city is a mayor, and the mayor of a town-level city is also a mayor, but the value of the two titles is obviously different.
DeBern joked, "If it weren't for this, I'm afraid your principal wouldn't let us in."
“The reason why Kitwe City came to the campus to hold a job fair in advance is because our city is undergoing economic transformation.”
"Kitwe used to be a developed industrial city, but this also led to a relatively single industrial structure. So in order to seek diversified development, we need different talents to help us achieve this."
“One of our city’s important goals in the near future is to vigorously promote the development of the film and television industry, so that Kitwe will become the fourth film and television base after Rhine City, Mombasa City and Dar es Salaam City, or even the first film and television city in East Africa.”
The big promise that Debern painted did attract the interest of some students. After all, this is the Communication University of China, and students from many majors are familiar with the film and television industry.
"Mayor Debern, is your city planning to make a movie?"
“Are there any mature film and television companies in Kitwe?”
“If we go to work in Kitwe, what will the salary be like…”
Facing the questions from the surrounding students, Debern patiently answered: "Not only movies, documentaries, music, but even other things that may be related and can be transmitted through cameras and electrical signals and are beneficial, our city supports them all."
"At present, Kitwe has an existing TV station, but our municipal government has already planned to set up a film production company and is also preparing to introduce some film and television companies to invest in Kitwe, so the employment prospects are broad."
"As for the treatment, Kitwe City supports the development of the film and television industry and will naturally allocate resources to it. Of course, if you, the proud sons of the empire, encounter any troubles in the future, you can also come to me directly. I will definitely give you a satisfactory attitude..."
Of course, some people also heard the subtext in Debern's words, which is that Kitwe City has no film and television industry foundation at all and lacks relevant experience, so they began to back down in their hearts.
Of course, some people think that this is a good opportunity and that it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a foundation. After all, everyone has not yet left the campus, and what they lack most after entering society is opportunities.
After all, if you really enter those relatively mature companies and units, you may not necessarily have the opportunity to show your talents.
Now Kitwe City has provided a platform. If we work hard, we may be able to catch a ride and eventually soar to the sky.
"Mr. Mayor, how many people do you need?"
Debern was very happy to hear this, after all, it meant that someone was interested, so he said: "Of course, the more the better. Of course, the prerequisite is that they must have real skills and knowledge. However, our requirements are not too outrageous. As long as the professional quality is qualified, our city will welcome them."
"You don't need to worry. Kitwe is not far from your university. It only takes one day to travel between Rhine and Kitwe by rail and road."
“You can find a holiday to visit Kitwe City, and our city government can send someone to receive you in person.”
The proximity to Rhine City is a huge advantage of Kitwe City, which is incomparable to Mombasa, where the film and television industry is the most developed. After all, Rhine City has gathered the country's top talents because of the concentration of educational resources. The closer to Rhine City, the more conducive it is to absorb these talents. Of course, the premise is that there are corresponding industries and jobs to support it.
Under Deborn's persuasion, more than a dozen students from the Communication University prepared to go to Kitwe to test the waters that day. However, these students were not the best in terms of academic performance. This was understandable. More outstanding talents would definitely prefer to stay in Rhine City, or go to Mombasa and Dar es Salaam for development. Their grades were just stepping stones, and there was no need for them to go to a city where they didn't know whether they could succeed and where the economic level was relatively poor.
(End of this chapter)
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