Crucial key skills for the Chinese Market

credit to hamza

Previously, we had explored the subject of China and the existing talent gap that is handicapping the local recruitment market; this article will in turn explore the ways in which one can capitalise on this talent gap.

As one of the biggest and fastest developing economies in the world, China needs much more talent than is available within the country to fill in its vacancies, for this reason it looks to attract an increasing amount of international talent. This talent shortage can be felt across all sectors with “China now moving up the value chain in the manufacturing industry, while also becoming more prominent in sectors such as healthcare, IT, leisure and professional services”(). These developments have therefore created many career openings for highly qualified oversee graduates, both Chinese and international, who struggle to find jobs in the western world.

One of the main issues with the existing talent gap in China is the education which “relies too heavily on memorization” (reliableplant.com). This produces graduates that are highly efficient but dependent on leadership, with difficulty thinking creatively or taking initiative independently (reliableplant.com). A study conducted by Mckinsey on the topic had revealed that “there is an ongoing mismatch between the sort of graduates most Chinese universities turn out and the type of candidate who would interest local and regional companies”(). For this reason, the appeal of locals having received a western education and international elements is at an all time high for companies based China.

Moreover, most of the jobs that employers throughout China are having the most difficulty filling are ones that require individuals from specialised fields of expertise such as engineers, technicians, accountant and Finance staff (manpower, 2013). Experts are partly blaming China’s outdated education system for not equipping graduates with the necessary practical skills to be able to function in the real world. A recent article on the talent gap in the Chinese Hospitality sector argued that “educational institutions in China should take specific steps to update course curricula and materials to develop students’ functional, social and business skills” (chinabusinessreview, 2012).