China's skilled labor resources are now depleted and worrying

In China, although the problem of "labor shortage" has generally begun to ease, the shortage of skilled workers is becoming more and more serious.

Although workers' wages have risen steadily over the past few years, many businesses still see wages as the crux of the problem.

Let's put it bluntly, people go higher, where higher wages go, said Kesley Wang of Qingdao Juyuan Fitness Equipment Co. Ltd. The Shandong-based maker of health and fitness products uses employment agencies to address the shortage of skilled workers.

“Chinese companies are growing and competing for top talent in the market with high salaries,” said Chen Chunjie, CEO and director of HROne, a human resource outsourcing service provider.

Chen pointed out that there is a significant shortage of skilled workers in human resource outsourcing services at present, and more and more clients explicitly request to hire experienced employees. Foreign companies feel the pressure especially, as skilled workers and qualified graduates are snatched up by local companies.

Some companies are more "first to start strong". They work with technical schools and are the first to select the best students to intern at their factories, said Irene Guo, a sales manager at Shandong Kangtai Industry Co. Ltd.

This approach presents another challenge. After the factory internship, some students are directly hired by the company, reducing the number of students who actually need to find a job after graduation.

Chen said the number of graduates may not be enough to fill all vacancies.

Lorenzo Panizzari, Operations Manager at Nordmeccanica Machinery (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. agrees. "Businesses' demand for skilled workers is growing faster than schools are producing skilled workers," he said.

Jinjianfeng Group Pinghu Children Tricycle Co. Ltd signed a cooperation agreement with technical schools in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces a few years ago. Despite this, they are still not recruiting enough people, especially technicians, and the demand far exceeds the supply.

Fu'an Huacheng Electronics Co. Ltd has a similar arrangement with the technical school, but is still looking for electronics, drafting and R&D engineers.

White-collar jobs are in demand

Another problem is people's changing job preferences. Vocational and technical schools are already a thing of the past, and many young people want to go to college and start their white-collar careers with a diploma.

Michael Liang, manager of Qingdao First Safety Footwear Co. Ltd, believes that skilled workers are the key to the manufacturing industry, and the manufacturing industry cannot develop without skilled workers, "but people think that working in factories has no future." < Chen of p>HROne said that under the family planning policy, parents can support their children for a long time. "Many young people still live with their parents as adults. They don't have much motivation to support themselves. Even after graduating from college, the salary is not as high as expected."

Nordmeccanica's Panizzari believes that workers "have no sense of responsibility and do not plan for the future. "No matter how much I entice, some workers just don't like English or technical classes, and maybe they think it's unpaid work that will take up their spare time. "

Chen sees another problem as technology is changing rapidly, and the definition of "skill" is not what it used to be. "Not all workers can keep up with the times." They stay on 'old skills' and eventually become unskilled people. ”

Advantages of the inland

For companies in coastal manufacturing centers, the hometown attractiveness that comes with the great development of inland provinces makes the problem worse. "Because these factories on the 'Gold Coast' are highly dependent on migrant workers," said Andrew Reich, chief executive of InTouch. "The Shenzhen, Guangdong-based company provides product quality control services to overseas buyers.

More workers are looking for work in or near their hometowns, not because of higher wages, but closer proximity to relatives and friends.

Research firm Jonathan Fenby, managing director of Trusted Sources China, points out that farmers in Sichuan province can find jobs within the province thanks to the booming manufacturing industry in Chongqing and Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.

“Workers can take advantage of their vacation time to return to A rural home; children can go to school in their hometown without having to be in the city because of their rural hukou restrictions.

Consideration of living costs is also the reason for looking for work in hometown. According to a report in China Daily in February 2013, workers in an industrial park in Nanchong, Sichuan earn 30,000 to 4,000 yuan a month and save 20,000 yuan a year. It is twice as much as working in Shenzhen, and the wages in the Shenzhen factory are almost the same as those in Nanchong.

For inland factories, the inward migration of workers only solves one problem: recruiting enough workers.

As the headquarters is located in For companies like Chengdu's CCK Group/CMMC Corporation, it is now time to find ways to keep new employees working longer.

CCK can recruit the required workers within a 500-kilometer radius and provide appropriate training for new recruits To further strengthen their skills, while developing their loyalty to the company, so that workers do not want to change jobs once they have experience.