You offer your talents to some who needs them for an hour and in return you can request an hour's worth of their skills.
It's a skills exchange - a group of who trade services, skills and resources.
Today, more and more white-collar workers in Shanghai are keen on setting up skills exchanges.
A 28-year-old woman who calls herself "Xiao Anchun", or little partridge, recently put a post looking for a computer teacher on the popular local classifieds website "kijiji". She's a professional piano teacher and she wanted someone to teach her how to construct a website for her school. She offered to give piano or English lessons in return. She eventually struck a deal with a man called "Ouyang", who agreed to teach her how to construct a website if she taught his daughter to play the piano.
One computer student called "LifeforLife" got even more from his skills exchange - a friend! He planned to trade his computer skills for English classes. A girl contacted him, saying she wanted to learn how to use the internet. They chatted to each other on MSN for a while before they decided to spend the weekend together. The girl took "LifeforLife" around the tourist spots of Shanghai. Looks like he found a great guide as well as a teacher!
Lao Meng from the Kijiji website says three kinds of skills are currently in demand on the website: fitness training, language skills and particular types of professional expertise. He says the talents seem to correspond with gender, as many men trade professional knowledge like computer skills, while many women trade their language skills.
Lao Meng also has some advice for people wanting to set up a skills exchange. He says you should meet each other in a public place first and make sure you take some company with you, or tell your friends or family.
It's a skills exchange - a group of who trade services, skills and resources.
Today, more and more white-collar workers in Shanghai are keen on setting up skills exchanges.
A 28-year-old woman who calls herself "Xiao Anchun", or little partridge, recently put a post looking for a computer teacher on the popular local classifieds website "kijiji". She's a professional piano teacher and she wanted someone to teach her how to construct a website for her school. She offered to give piano or English lessons in return. She eventually struck a deal with a man called "Ouyang", who agreed to teach her how to construct a website if she taught his daughter to play the piano.
One computer student called "LifeforLife" got even more from his skills exchange - a friend! He planned to trade his computer skills for English classes. A girl contacted him, saying she wanted to learn how to use the internet. They chatted to each other on MSN for a while before they decided to spend the weekend together. The girl took "LifeforLife" around the tourist spots of Shanghai. Looks like he found a great guide as well as a teacher!
Lao Meng from the Kijiji website says three kinds of skills are currently in demand on the website: fitness training, language skills and particular types of professional expertise. He says the talents seem to correspond with gender, as many men trade professional knowledge like computer skills, while many women trade their language skills.
Lao Meng also has some advice for people wanting to set up a skills exchange. He says you should meet each other in a public place first and make sure you take some company with you, or tell your friends or family.