Wu Jiayi, a young woman from Hong Kong, has just been employed as a Chinese teacher at Longtian Primary School in Pingshan District, becoming the first Hong Kong resident to be officially recruited by a public institution in the city, according to Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.

Her employment at the school as a public institution enjoys life tenure and cannot be terminated.

Wu is among the first Hong Kong residents selected to become employees of public institutions in Guangdong Province.

“Hong Kong residents can now become public school teachers in Shenzhen. I am still thrilled at the thought,” said Wu, adding that “I am so lucky to be among the first to get this kind of job.”

Wu officially signed a contract May 8, after a series of selections.

In the past, Hong Kong residents were not eligible to apply for jobs at public institutions on the Chinese mainland.

The Guangdong Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department released a plan June 24 last year to allow China’s Hong Kong and Macao residents, without having permanent residence permits in foreign countries, to take enrollment examinations for positions at public institutions.

After the provincial plan was launched, Shenzhen soon responded by opening application procedures of job positions at public institutions for Hong Kong and Macao residents in July last year.

Hong Kong and Macao residents competed on a level ground with applicants on the mainland, because the positions were not specifically targeted at a certain group of people.

Huang Xiaolei, from Hong Kong, also a postgraduate student at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, applied for an English teaching position at Nanyuan Primary School in Futian District last November.

Huang is doing her internship at the school and will become the second Hong Kong resident recruited to work in the city’s public institutions, said the report.

“Shenzhen is developing so fast and is full of opportunities. I am willing to be a part of the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and will encourage other Hong Kong and Macao residents around me to come to work on the mainland,” said Huang.