Job centers keep busy

A RECORD 1.05 million people applied for jobs at public job placement centers across the city last year, according to an annual labor market report.

Although most of the jobs attracted dozens of applicants, some occupations suffer from a shortage due to a lack of qualified professionals.

The report, released by the Shanghai Labor and Social Security Bureau yesterday, said 73,000 people registered for jobs with the Shanghai Job Placement Center’s Website (job.12333.gov.cn) last year. Another 32,000 applicants turned to the center’s 19 branches throughout the city to find work.

The total number of applicants rose by nearly nine percent from 2005, with most job seekers being 16 to 24 years old and not holding a college degree. The number of jobs listed at the center hit 1.02 million last year, an eight percent increase from 2005.

Among all the positions, administrative jobs such as secretaries, human resource assistants and finance workers attracted the most applicants.

The center said 82,000 people applied for 34,000 secretary positions last year.

Wang Jiawen, a career information analyst at the center, said the strong competition should be attributed to these jobs’ low entry requirements, which allowed job seekers with moderate communication skills to apply.

In contrast, many employers were having trouble filing technical jobs.

Only 17,000 applications were received for more than 29,000 technician positions posted last year, jobs that included digital machine operators, software programmers and computer maintenance workers.

Last year’s bullish stock market also generated a huge demand for security investment analysts and consultants. Only about 62 percent of the 16,000 openings were filled, however, according to the report.

BASF Helps Raise Agricultural Standards In China

BASF says India and China will be among the first countries to get access to its latest pipeline insecticide, metaflumizone.

After successful market introductions in Japan and Korea earlier in 2006, BASF in December received registration for its fungicide boscalid in China under the name Kai Tse. This product is tailored for use in the fruit and vegetables segment. Additionally, new products with the fungicide F 500 are scheduled for launch in India in the coming months, both in solo products and in combination with other active ingredients.

“As the Chinese and Indian economies grow, there is a rising demand for high-quality fresh produce,” says Michael Heinz, President of BASF’s Agricultural Products. “BASF is expanding in this fast-growing segment with solutions that help domestic growers offer superior produce in terms of quality and safety. We are excited about bringing our newest insecticide, metaflumizone, to these countries. Recent progress made in the protection of intellectual property is also encouraging.”

With yearly sales of around $1.7 billion in 2005, China is the world’s fifth-largest crop protection market. Analysts put yearly growth at between 3%-5%. Of the other top-ranked markets, only India shows similar growth.

“Of course, the high-value segment in China today is still small compared to other countries. But it is growing faster than the overall crop protection market,” says Heinz. “We target this segment of the market with our innovative products, and here solutions for fruit and vegetables are key.”

Sales in China have more than doubled in the past two years. BASF has ambitious plans for the Chinese market through 2012. In addition to the introduction of numerous BASF innovations, label extensions and new active ingredients will help raise the standard of agriculture in the country.

To bring the right crop protection products to China, BASF has formed working relationships with several top-tier agricultural research organizations such as Nanjing Agricultural University, the Institute of Plant Protection of Beijing Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Institute of Plant Protection of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences. In December, BASF set up a scholarship program with NAU to extend the partnership. Earlier this year, BASF launched two projects with this university in the area of resistance monitoring and mode of action studies of fungicides. This is the first project of its kind that BASF is working on with a Chinese agricultural university at the research level.

“We are impressed by the hard work and new ideas coming from these bright young talents,” says Peter Eckes, head of research and formulation development at BASF’s Agricultural Products division. “We also look forward to working with these partners to bring our pipeline of innovative new active ingredients to growers in China.”

Restaurant employees shocked by closure

ABOUT 70 former employees of a restaurant in Hongkou District went to the district Labor and Social Security Bureau yesterday afternoon seeking help to recover 175,000 yuan (US$21,875) they paid in deposits after the business suddenly closed four days ago.

Following a three-hour meeting, workers were told it would be difficult to get the money back and a bureau official suggested they should file a lawsuit, according to the employees.

Wu Tao, the restaurant’s general manager, was nowhere to be found. His attorney Chen Daidi refused to talk to reporters yesterday.

On top of the deposits owed to workers, the Wuhusihai Restaurant, which was located on the fourth floor of a supermarket on Yixian Road, allegedly owes more than one million yuan to suppliers.

“I received an order call at 9pm on Saturday demanding we deliver livestock the next morning. I came, and found the restaurant was closed,” said a livestock dealer surnamed Ding.

Restaurant staff were more astonished to find the business was closed when they went to work on Sunday morning.

Big bucks for city’s HR execs on shortage

THE Shanghai-based human resource directors of foreign enterprises earned more than 200,000 yuan (US$25,641) on average last year and their salary is set to jump 10 percent year on year in 2007, Shanghai Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment said in a recent report.

The body attributed the rise in local HR directors’ income, some even higher than their counterparts of the same level in the United States, to a shortage of talent as a result of surging demand.

The average pay of a Shanghai HR director was 230,600 yuan last year, a 10.03 percent growth year on year. The average salary of HR managers was 115,000 yuan while HR specialists and assistants earned from 50,000 yuan to 70,000 yuan each, according to the association.

Demand for high-level HR talent is growing rapidly as more foreign companies move operations and facilities to Shanghai, the association said.

“I am afraid if clients ask us to find a high-level HR manager. It’s a tough task, especially in Shanghai,” said Edward Zhao, a consulting manager of ChinaHR, one of the country’s leading Web-based head hunters.

Besides possessing specialized skills such as training and drafting an enterprise salary structure, top HR directors often need work experience of more than 15 years and at least seven to eight years for a HR manager, according to Zhao.