Migrant workers scarces in Guangdong http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2IJC5T1nWg
Some 26 million migrant workers gather annually in Guangdong province, looking for jobs. In 2008, the global financial crisis put hundreds of thousands of them out of work, and they headed home. But with the Chinese economy now moving into recovery, manufacturers in Guangdong have a new problem. They can't recruit enough migrant workers for the huge orders coming in. Zhang Quanshou owns an agency that recruits migrant workers for manufacturers in Guangdong. During the financial crisis, he used to worry about placing hundreds of workers. Now his problem is just the opposite. Zhang Quanshou, Chairman of Szquanshun Corporation, said, "We never went out to other provinces to find workers. But now I have to travel to the northern provinces three times in a month." This local printing company is feeling the squeeze. Deng Mingshan, Chairman of China Quanjingqihua Technology Corp., said, "Even though we have raised the salary by 300 to 500 yuan a month, we still have more than 100 job vacancies." The company has upgraded its equipment, but operators are in short supply. Deng Mingshan said, "The machine has been here for more than 20 days, but we have very few workers who can operate it. So we have to recruit such skilled workers in Dongguan city." Data shows the demand for skilled workers in Guangdong rose to 73 percent in December from 62 percent in January of 2009. That's 1.4 million people. Gan Wenquan, director of Guangdong Employment Service Bureau, said, "The financial tsunami has forced the manufacturers to upgrade their production capacity and it has raised the demand on worker competence and skills. We have a five-year training program for the migrant workers, which will bring up 1.2 million workers annually." Analysts say the manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta are going through an upgrade period and they need more skilled workers. And this means migrant workers now have more choices. If Guangdong salaries aren't competitive, they can always move on. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "World-thread" group. To post to this group, send email to world-thr...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to world-thread+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/world-thread?hl=en.
