Employability Skills
Session 5
What do graduates do?
The Chinese graduate labour market
• Key facts:
• Competition for jobs from Chinese graduates is extremely
high – over 6 million graduates join the labour market every
year.
• UK educated Chinese nationals have to compete with well
educated graduates from Chinese universities.
• Average age on graduation is 24.
• Relevant paid work experience is more highly regarded by
employers than voluntary and casual paid experience.
• Average graduate starting salary US $6000 per annum
(2009).
• Average working week 8 am – 5 pm, 5 days per week with
13 days off for national holidays.
The Chinese graduate labour market
• Key facts
• Possessing a good command of your Chinese +
the English language, and relevant practical
experience, greatly enhances your chances in
the graduate labour market.
• Labour force 812.7 million (2009).
• Unemployment rate = 4.3% urban areas (2009).
• Unemployment rate = 10% rural areas (2009).
The Chinese graduate labour market
• Key facts
• Notable differences between incomes of
Chinese living in towns and cities
compared to rural areas.
• Salary very much dependant on
educational attainment, university
attended and relevant paid experience.
What are the main
options?
• Permanent job
• Directly related to your degree major
– A vocational degree such as Computing could lead
onto a career in IT.
• Where your degree subject would be useful
– A degree in psychology could be useful for a career in
market research or HR (Human Resources).
• Not related to your degree subject
– Over 50% of graduates enter careers of ‘any degree
discipline’. Careers such as accountancy, general
management and sales do not require you to have
studied any particular degree subject.
What are the main
options?
• Other types of employment
• Temporary
– The first job for many graduates is temporary. Employers recruit
many staff into temporary contracts either via agencies or
directly. It can be a way of ‘testing staff out’.
• Voluntary work
– Some graduates take this option as a way to improve their
CV/Resume and generally broaden their practical experience.
For some careers such as social work, youth work, teaching, the
legal profession it is essential to gain some prior experience, so
voluntary work is one way to do it.
• Self-employment
– There are many organisations set up to help you start up your
own businesses – see session 3 – Employability resources to
help you identify these and session 4 – Career matching – what
career suits you? to help you establish if you are suited for a
career in entrepreneurship.
What are the main
options?
• Time out
– You may need to take time out for family reasons.
– You may feel like broadening your horizons by doing
some travelling which you could also combine with
work – see session 3 Employability resources for
ideas on how you might do this.
– If presented positively employers really value the
additional skills and practical experiences you can
bring into their work place.
– It may also be possible, with some employers, to
delay your start date to enable you to do some
travelling. This requires careful negotiation though.
What are the main options?
• Further study
– Increasing numbers of Chinese graduates choose to
continue their studies; for many this is the route into their
chosen career. You need to carefully examine your
motivations for choosing this option though – there are
detailed resources listed in session 3 Employability
resources to help you assess this as a possible option.
– There are two forms of postgraduate study:
– Taught programmes – e.g. MAs and MScs
• They follow a similar structure to undergraduate
degrees and may or may not have a strong career
focus.
– Research programmes – e.g. PhDs
• For those who want to study their subject in more detail
– here your relationship with your supervisor is critical
for helping you to achieve success.
Major Industries
Did you know that…..
The Chinese economy has transformed from a
planned economy to a more market driven one.
This has created a shift from state-owned to
private companies which has accelerated
economic growth at a rate of more than 9% per
year (average).
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Major industries: mining, textiles, chemicals, consumer products,
telecommunications equipment, satellites and transportation, e.g. cars,
ships, aircraft.
Recent growth areas: plastics, rubber and pharmaceuticals.
Shortage occupations: graduates with IT and related technical
qualifications are in demand.
Major companies: many major international companies in China including:
Nestlé, Google, Shell, IBM, HSBC, Microsoft, Airbus, Clifford Chance
and Procter & Gamble.
Major sectors
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Agriculture – accounts for 39.5% of working population.
Architecture, planning and construction Growing demand for non-residential buildings + residential has created
opportunities in real estate, urban planning, architecture and engineering
Banking, finance and insurance – China has gained benefits from joining
the World Trade Organisation. Rise in corporate and retail banking.
Opportunities for accountants, business analysts, consultants, tax
managers, sales managers and claims managers.
Biotechnology and biomedicine
An increasingly ageing population, and numbers of patients with growing
numbers of Chinese residents with health insurance has created work
opportunities for graduates in biochemical and biomedical sciences.
Environment
China, though still heavily dependant on fossil energy resources, particularly
coal, has become a global leader in renewable energy which has seen
significant investment in wind, small hydro and solar hot water projects.
There are also significant opportunities for Chinese companies exporting
and investing in waste management, water and wastewater treatment, low
carbon energy which could well create job opportunities in these areas of
activity.
Major sectors
• Health care products and services
Government initiative has encouraged an expansion of the
health care sector and support for the pharmaceutical
industry. This has created a rise in company start-ups and
multinationals investing more in research and development
• ICT (Information Communications Technology)
Chinese software is emerging as a diverse and highly
fragmented market. There is a shortage of core technologies
and skilled labour. China is keen to increase its efficiency in
this area and will invest in IT and telecommunications
solutions in the future. Four million jobs expected to be
generated in China by the IT services outsourcing industry by
2015.
Major sectors
• Manufacturing
Relatively low production costs have made China a
favoured location for outsourcing. There is also a
growing national demand for domestic retail products.
Work opportunities for production managers, industrial
engineers, sales managers and marketing professionals.
• Mining
As China is heavily reliant on coal it is expected to
continue to invest in production of high tech mining
equipment. Construction of new mines, safety and
research into clean processing will create more
opportunities in this sector.
Major sectors
• Fast Moving Consumer
Goods
• 7th largest consumer
market in the world
• 45% top retailers are
hypermarkets or
supermarkets
• Increase in foreign retail
companies moving into
China
• China Programme Tesco Careers
Location, location, location
• When looking for a job, consider where there the best
job opportunities might be.
• Jobs in major established centres (Shanghai, Beijing and
Guangzhou) compared with growing cities (Shenzhen,
Dalian and Chengdu, Chongqing).
• Think about differences in the requirements of
government, private and multinational employers.
• Residency permits, cost of living and salaries
Beijing
• Political and cultural capital.
• 16.8 billion direct investment and post Olympics benefits
have created 1.82 million new jobs.
• Government predicted GDP would grow 9% until 2010.
• IT and telecommunications key sectors with international
companies like Motorola, Nokia, Microsoft, Cisco and
SAP all basing their headquarters here.
• Has 18 foreign bank branches and is home to China’s
central bank – The People’s Bank of China.
Shanghai
• Commercial and financial centre of China.
• International companies such as Barclays, PWC,
Nomura, McKinsey and KPMG all have
headquarters in Shanghai.
• In 2006 Shanghai attracted $7 billion of foreign
investment.
• Shanghai has recorded a double digit growth for
15 consecutive years since 1992.
• In 2008 Shanghai’s nominal GDP posted a 9.7%
growth to 1.37 trillion RMB.
Guangzhou
• First to open its doors to foreign investment.
• Heart of the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone with a
dynamic economy.
• Has benefitted from close proximity to Hong Kong.
• Export focussed manufacturing accounts for 74% of
GDP.
• Growth in small, medium sized enterprises (SMEs) since
2002.
• Key industries: IT, Telecommunications,
pharmaceuticals, electronics, Fast Moving Consumer
Goods (FMCGs) and petrochemicals.
Growing cities
• Preferential tax policies have opened up foreign
investment in China
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Chengdu: Alcatel, Coca- Cola, Intel and Toyota
Dalian: Accenture, GE and Panasonic
Tianjin: Hyundai, Samsung and Yamaha
Nanjing: Ericsson, Fiat and Toshiba
Chongqing: Ford, Honda and Metro
Hangzhou: Bayer, IBM and Danone Electrolux
How do you ensure you obtain graduate
level employment?
• You will need to make yourself ‘employable’ in
order to remain in employment
• You need to acquire a range of personal skills,
knowledge and relevant practical experience
which you can transfer from job to job if
necessary.
• Be prepared to keep developing your career,
keep acquiring new skills, knowledge etc.
through continuous professional development
(CPD) opportunities.
How do you ensure you obtain graduate
level employment?
• You need to be proactive when searching for
jobs.
• Many jobs are found now by using more subtle
job search techniques rather than responding to
advertised vacancies:
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Networking
Work/practical experience
Making speculative approaches
Doing first step non-graduate jobs to gain a start
working with a company.
How do you ensure you obtain graduate
level employment?
• If you are keen to work for a major international company
make sure you develop your English skills – some companies
will only accept graduates who are fluent in the English
language.
• If you have studied abroad in an English speaking company
you have an advantage.
• Make use of your network ‘Guanxi’ in China to help you find
posts.
• If you are considering studying in the UK you will need to
extend your network whilst there – join associations such as
the Chinese University Alumni Association.
• Make sure you know where to look for jobs – see session 3
Employability resources for a comprehensive list of vacancy
and employer resources.
How do you ensure you obtain graduate
level employment?
• Increasing numbers of graduates all over
the world now make use of social
networking as a way of uncovering job
opportunities.
• Sites such as Weibo, QQ, Tao Tao, Fan
Fou and others in China can help you do
this.
• See session 3 Employability resources for
a list of further resources.
What skills and abilities do you need to
succeed in a career in the 21st
century?
• To get a job:
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Team working
Communication skills
Prioritising
Problem solving
Commercial
awareness
• To manage your
career:
• Self-awareness and
self-promotion
• ‘Political’ awareness
• Networking skills
• Negotiation skills
• Strategic thinking
In summary…….
• Make the changing labour market work for
you by:
– Identifying, creating and managing your own
opportunities.
– Setting yourself goals, developing skills and
experiences to help you achieve them.
– Ensuring you produce quality application
forms and perform well at interview.