Archives 2008

Taiwan to mainland job boat is still afloat

Last year, Phoebe Sun began to feel that her native Taiwan was too small for her to develop her career as an advertising executive.

She had been working in Taipei since graduating from business school in 2001 and wanted to try somewhere new.

After going to mainland China for the first time last summer, the 30-year-old decided she wanted to work there.

So she applied for a job in Beijing, was hired and moved to the city last December, thus joining the growing number of Taiwanese who go to the mainland in search of better career prospects.

“The Chinese market is huge and full of opportunities. I was hoping to gain some experience that I would not be able to get in Taipei,” says Ms Sun.

China has long been a popular place for Taiwanese to set up business because of its proximity and low cost-base. More than 1m Taiwanese now live in mainland China, according to estimates by Hung Hxi-yao, deputy secretary general of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland (ATIEM).

A number of Taiwanese companies, in sectors such as manufacturing and semiconductors, also have transferred their operations from the island state to China, where they can save on costs and develop their businesses on a bigger scale.

Some companies in China, meanwhile, like to hire Taiwanese because they speak the same language and are culturally very similar.

“Taiwan was once ruled by the Japanese, who have very high loyalty to their companies and respect seniority. We have learnt these qualities from them and they are what many Chinese employers look for,” says Alex Hsu, general manager of MGR Search & Selection (Pasona Group), a Taipei-based recruitment firm.

For multinational companies in China, which usually have top-level executives relocated from other countries and large numbers of mainland graduates for junior posts, Taiwanese employees can fill a wide gap at the middle management level.

Taiwan is the biggest source of foreign workers for Chinese employers, according to a 2008 survey by Manpower, the international employment services company.

“One of our surveys shows that the top three kinds of job in which foreign talent is most needed in China are senior executives, middle management and engineers. Taiwan has them all. It’s simply a question of supply and demand,” says Lucille Wu, managing director of Manpower Greater China.

Against a backdrop of warming relations between Beijing and Taipei, ATIEM’s Mr Hung expects the mainland’s population of Taiwanese expatriates to reach 1.5m by the end of the year.

Since Ma Ying-jeou became Taiwan’s president in May, his administration has overseen the resumption of direct air links with China, partly removed restrictions on Taiwanese companies’ investments in China, and liberalised cross-Strait investments.

“Taiwan and China are becoming closer and closer since Mr Ma took over. A lot of Taiwanese feel they are Chinese too,” says Beijing-based Mr Hung. “With China being such an important economy, it’s only natural for them to want to work here.”

According to a recent survey by 104 Job Bank, a Taiwanese headhunting agency, 45 per cent of jobseekers in Taiwan are interested in working in China. Nearly 70 per cent people say they are attracted by the potential of China’s economy, which expanded 10.4 per cent in the first half of 2008.

Economic growth in Taiwan, meanwhile, is less than 5 per cent, which contributes to a subdued job market in the island state.

Although higher salary is not one of the factors cited in the survey, some people, especially those who work for multinational companies, do get paid more in China. MGR’s Mr Hsu says a human resources manager who works for a US company in China could be paid one-third more than their counterpart in Taipei.

“Increasingly, many Taiwanese are being considered local hires in China. Many don’t get expat packages any more” says Mr Hsu.

To make themselves even more attractive to Chinese companies, Taiwanese employees sometimes ask for lower salaries than other workers from the region, who often pay lower employment taxes at home. Income tax rates in Hong Kong and Singapore, for example, are up to 17 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, compared with 40 per cent in Taiwan and 45 per cent in mainland China.

“We find that Taiwanese expats do not request full expat packages and do not need to be tax-equalized, as opposed to Hong Kong and Singaporean candidates, who obviously enjoy much lower tax rates,” says Andrew Chang, associate director at Michael Page, the recruitment firm, in Beijing.

Meanwhile, just as a larger numbers of Taiwanese and other foreign workers are moving to China, the country has also been nurturing its own talent.

But this does not mean that it is too late for those Taiwanese who want to try their luck on the mainland.

“Supply is growing but has not yet met demand. China still needs a lot of Taiwanese. It is never too late”, says Ms Wu.

Advisors call for measures to raise migrants’ salaries

Political advisors Wednesday called on the government to make greater efforts to raise migrant workers’ salaries and ensure they have a better standard of living.

With more than 200 million such workers in cities across China, how to better protect their rights and interests has become a crucial issue, members of the country’s top political advisory body said Wednesday in Beijing at a meeting on achieving more balanced development between urban and rural areas.

They also called for substantial measures to be taken to provide these workers with insurance for workplace injuries, better educational opportunities for their children and more affordable housing.

Li Zhuobin, a member of the Standing Committee of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said migrant workers still face employment discrimination and poor access to public services.
Citing the construction industry as an example, he said migrant workers’ salaries could be two-thirds or half that of their urban counterparts.

In other cases, employers refuse to hire workers without urban permanent residence permits.

“Many employers do not pay them on time,” said Li.

“In sectors that hire a large number of migrant workers, such as construction, catering and entertainment, the government should be strict on implementing the salary deposit rule,” he said.

The rule, introduced in May 2004 by the former Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, requires construction companies to deposit a certain amount of money in a labor department bank account. The money is used to pay migrant workers who fail to receive their due salaries.

In addition, the training of rural workers fails to fully meet employers’ requirements and the public employment service’s efforts to help migrant workers find jobs are inadequate, he added.

Li suggested that preferential policies to promote employment should cover both urban and rural residents.

Shenzhen looks to fill 560,000 jobs

Authorities in Shenzhen are looking to attract 560,000 workers from rural areas of Guangdong over the next five years in a bid to counter rising labor costs, a provincial official said on Tuesday.

“Shenzhen’s ambitious plan is part of the province’s double transfer strategy,” Lin Yingwu, deputy director of the Guangdong labor and social security department.

“Other cities in the delta region will follow suit,” he said

The aim of the strategy is to attract workers to the manufacturing centers of the Pearl River Delta, as well as relocating some production bases to areas with large workforces in a bid to reduce soaring labor costs, he said.

Four industrial parks, funded by the Shenzhen and local governments, have already been built in rural areas of Guangdong, the Nanfang Daily reported recently.

Shenzhen has signed labor cooperation agreements with 14 rural cities, and on Monday, 128 employers from the city offered about 40,000 vacancies, with monthly salaries ranging from 1,300 yuan ($190) to 2,500 yuan, Lin said.

Labor departments in Shenzhen and the 14 cities will work together to improve communications and facilitate the movement of workers, Guan Lingen, director of the Shenzhen labor and social security bureau, said.

Also, online interviews will be held wherever possible to eliminate travel costs, he said.

Li Qingqing, an associate professor of economics at South China Normal University, said the double transfer strategy will be beneficial to all the cities involved.

“Under the plan, delta boomtowns will no longer need to worry about the shortfall of laborers, while the growing rural population will be able to find better ways to make a living,” she said.

Operation Director (mkt256nj)

Job Title: Operation Director
Job Description:
Company introduction: The client is an Italy company, which has become the world leader in automotive and machine tool markets during past 50 years. There are three manufacturing bases in Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuxi. Now a professional team is providing technology support and customer services for their customers in China. They are looking for talents to join them.
Report To: GM in Nanjing
Location: Nanjing

Responsibilities:
1. To monitor the overall situation of the factory.
2. To make planning, co-ordination and control production processes, including planning, logistic, warehouse control, assembly, testing, quality and on-site installation area.
3. Participating in constructing and optimizing organization of the Production group;
4. Monitoring the production processes and adjusting schedules as needed.
5. Supervising and motivating a team of works.
6. To ensure machine and services are produced efficiently and on time.
7. To improve the workshop ability and performance.
8. To ensure each operation is completed according to proper procedure and discipline.
9. To develop or improve operation procedures and maximize the utilization of manpower.
10. Follow up concrete projects according to production procedure of the Company.
11. Be responsible for the production quality and on-time delivery. Responsible for leading the plant and sub-department.
12. To communicate with people of other departments and/or customers and/or suppliers.

Qualifications:
1. Degree/background?College Degree in Mechanical, Electronic, or Automation Engineering or relevant
2. Experience?At least 10-12 years’ experience in production management.
3. Good understanding of the Manufacturing and Assembly Processes for complex automatic applications.
4. Background of Precision Gauges, automobile industry, engine, and /or automatic manufacturing industry.
5. Language?Good English in reading, writing and speaking
6. Other requirements?Good computer skills;
7. Good understanding of electrical drawings and mechanical manufacturing and assembly drawings;
8. Excellent communication and coordination skills;
9. Responsible, open-mind and willing to learn;
10. Flexible, Excellent Team-working.
* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_mkt256nj@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?

Job training for 100,000 students

Twelve vocational high schools will be built in the Pearl River Delta over the next few years to train up to 100,000 students from less-developed areas of Guangdong to meet the soaring demand for skilled workers in the region, a local education official said yesterday.

A Nanfang Daily report quoted Luo Weiqi, director of the provincial education department, as saying: “The development of vocational education will be a priority over the next few years.

“A dozen vocational schools, each with 5,000 to 10,000 students, will be set up, and secondary schools in better developed areas of the Pearl River Delta region will be encouraged to work with their counterparts in less developed regions.”

The delta region has long faced a shortage of labor, and skilled workers are now in particularly high demand as the region seeks to switch focus from labor-intensive manufacturing to value-added industries.

In contrast, there is a surplus of unskilled workers in the northern, eastern and western regions of Guangdong.

Sending students from poorer regions to train in the Pearl River Delta is, therefore, a win-win situation, Luo said.

Lai Hongying, a publicity official with the education department, said that by 2011, the province aims to train 2 million students a year, up from 1.3 million last year.

Under the same timeframe, it also aims to recruit 600,000 new students a year, up from 540,000 last year, he said.

Polytechnics and universities will also seek to attract more students in the areas of science and technology to provide a richer human resource for the development of a modern industrial system, he said.

In a bid to achieve our goals, we will improve working and living conditions for teachers in rural areas, and go “all out” to attract top academics from home and abroad, Lai said.

Executive Secretary (hr113sh)

Job Title: Executive Secretary
Job Description:
Company introduction:
Our Client is an American based world-class leading company, and a Fortune 1000 and S&P 500 member, with headquarters in USA.

Report To: Asia Pacific Vice president
Location: Shanghai
Responsibilities:
1. Screen and answer calls, transmit messages, handling mail services, receiving VIPs, etc. and follow up relevant items according to VP’s assignment.
2. Keep filing system, manage agenda, make appointments, update calendar for VP.
3. Set up conference calls with reminders and relevant support.
4. Coordinate with key clients for business arrangement: write, review and/or summarize interior design/décor client contracts and miscellaneous reports
5. Make travel arrangements;
6. Assist to search and collect resource for assignment; Help on classified information for business needs; Support business leader on effective connection with Corp leaders
7. Perform a wide variety of executive secretarial and administrative duties as required by daily operations
Requirement:
1. Bachelor degree or above. Major in English, business management or Secretary is preferred.
More than 4 years working experience in MNC and experience with secretary or assistant duties is a plus.
2. Ability to appropriately handle confidential and sensitive information;
3. Thinks logically, good mathematical understanding, able to check information for consistency;
4. Willing to take challenge and quick in learning.
5. An enthusiastic and motivated team player
6. Fluent in oral and written English.
* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_hr113sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?

Office Manager & Personal Assistant (hr114sh)

Job Title: Office Manager & Personal Assistant
Job Description:
Company introduction:
Our Client is an American based world-class leading company, with headquarters in USA.

Report To: Managing Director
Location: Shanghai
Responsibilities:

A. Office Administration Management
1. Negotiate admin contracts e.g. office lease, hotel, air & train tickets, car rental etc.
2. Develop and recommend office procedures and systems;
3. Ensure smooth office operations
4. Responsible for making, coordinating and confirming all travel arrangements
5. Able to interface with local office Admin. Management

B. Provide Secretarial support to Managing Director:
1. Perform a wide variety of executive secretarial and administrative duties as required by daily operations
2. Responsible for keeping the calendar of the Managing Director and coordinating and confirming all business appointments
3. Review and summarize miscellaneous reports and documents;
4. Prepare background documents as necessary
5. Prepare first draft reports
6. Arrange meetings and conferences

Qualifications:
1. University graduates
2. Minimum 6 years work experience of admin/secretary support, at least 1 year experience as an Office manager in multi-national firm.
3. Strong PC skills: MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
4. Excellent command of English, good oral English is a must
5. Easy-going personality, self-disciplined, proactive, good time management skill and sensitive to business issues, good team work spirit.
6. Excellent organizational skills and proven attention to detail;
7. Ability to appropriately handle confidential and sensitive information.
* Please send us your complete resume (both in Chinese and in English to: ‘topjob_hr114sh@dacare.com'(Please replace “#” with “@”)
* In the email subject MUST you plus the position name ?in either En or Ch ?

More workers get legal aid

More workers engaged in disputes with their employers will get access to legal aid as a result of new guidelines issued by China’s top trade union body.

According to the document, which was released on Monday by the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU), unions at county level or above will set up legal aid agencies to help workers resolve labor disputes with their employers.

The agencies will also help them safeguard personal and property rights related with the disputes.
Workers can apply for legal aid from the agencies even if they are not union members, Xie Liangmin, deputy director of the federation’s law department, said.

However, they should be in “financial difficulties” in order to qualify for free legal aid.

At present, each province has different criteria to judge workers’ financial situation. In some areas, people covered by minimum social security can qualify for legal aid.

The document also stipulates that workers who do not meet the criteria can still apply for legal aid if their rights are “seriously” violated.

Rural migrant workers who have problems in getting payments or compensation for occupational injuries from their bosses are qualified to receive free legal aid regardless of their financial situation.

“Many workers don’t have adequate knowledge of laws and are often discouraged by lengthy legal procedures,” Xie said.

“Legal aid agencies will do their best to help the workers use legal weapons to safeguard their rights and interests.”

According to statistics provided by the ACFTU, trade unions in China had established 6,178 legal aid agencies by the end of last year, in which they accepted 46,000 cases involving lawsuits and helped to solve 29,000 of them.

“Trade unions started to offer legal aid in 1992,” he said.

“The new document will guarantee the status and funding of legal aid agencies.”

Chu Junhua, a lawyer with the Beijing Workers’ Aid Center, said the number of workers applying for legal aid has increased sharply in recent years.

China’s outsourcing market up to £41bn by year end

The HR outsourcing market in China is expected to be worth more than £41bn at the end of this year, according to a new study.

Outsourcing provider EquaTerra said the Chinese market was experiencing rapid growth and would expand by at least 25% by the end of 2009. Five years ago, the market was valued at only £8bn.

EquaTerra spoke to 15 leading China-based HR directors of foreign businesses. They cited several reasons for not outsourcing HR to China, including concerns about data security and loss of management control.

But they acknowledged that a significant proportion of HR administration functions would be outsourced in the next three to five years, with payroll and recruitment leading the way.

However, the report warned that China still does not have enough skilled manpower to meet the growing demands of the HR outsourcing market.

EquaTerra said this would lead to wage acceleration for providers, margin erosion and talent shortages.

“Ultimately, the dominant players will be those companies that can obtain and retain quality delivery people,” the report said.

To read the full report, download the Human Resources Outsourcing in China pdf

Mike Berry (About this Author)

51job Chinese Recruiter Lowered

51job Inc.’s (JOBS) financial results for the second quarter showed a lower net profit margin due to higher sales and marketing expenses and a higher tax rate. Both its revenue and EPS missed the market consensus.

Although 51job continues to have the highest brand recognition in the online and offline recruiting markets in China, the leading position hasn’t gained any competitive advantage for 51job to improve its profit margin. Therefore, we are downgrading the stock from Buy to Hold.

China has 253 million internet users as of the end of June 2008. It has approximately 750 million workers now and more and more companies of different size begin to use low-cost online recruiting. This is a very positive tail wind environment in which to operate. Additionally, it is estimated that revenue of online recruiting services in China will reach RMB 2.63 billion in 2011. According to estimates, revenue of online recruiting services will amount for 45.3% of the total recruiting market in 2010.

Through a targeted sales and marketing strategy, 51job has been focusing on further building the ’51job’ brand as the ‘one-stop’ human resource services provider. Now 51job is the most famous brand in the recruiting market in China and this position has helped the company enter more profitable second-tier cities in China.

Using a P/E multiple of 18.2x our fiscal year 2009 earnings per ADS estimate of $0.70 yields a target price of $12.75, which can reflect company’s great growth prospects, in our view.