Foreign companies less popular – Grads pick state-owned employers

Alibaba chief executive officer Jack Ma speaks during a job fair in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. Many graduates cite Ma as their inspiration for joining Alibaba. IC Photo

By Zhao Hongyi

State enterprises have overtaken foreign and private enterprises as the top destination for job-seeking graduates this year, according to the 2010 annual survey of 200,000 students conducted by ChinaHR.com.

Among the Top 10 employers named, eight were state-owned. Foreign companies made up 21 of the 50 best employers in last year’s poll.

Some 34 percent surveyed choose state enterprises, 23 percent preferred foreign enterprises and 18 percent choose joint ventures.

Many students had gloomy expectations for private employers or jobs with NGOs. Only a quarter of the surveyed students chose these employers.

“The number of students choosing state enterprises has been increasing over the years from 17.9 percent in 2007 to 23.1 percent and 34.1 percent this year,” Ouyang Hui, researching director of ChinaHR.com, said.

“The number choosing foreign enterprises, joint ventures and private enterprises has been dropping,” he said.

The reason is the stable employment state enterprises provide, and their full coverage of welfare, he said. With the world economy still in turmoil, other enterprises are downsizing their recruitment plans and cutting jobs.

“State-owned enterprises are forming standard management and recruitment systems, improving their market performance and revenue, and that means there may be a chance for big salary increases down the road,” Ouyang said.

That access to new talent has enabled Chinese enterprises to explore the world market, according to a report by Wall Street Journal. The Shenzhen-based Huawei is playing an increasingly large part in the world telecommunication industry due in part to access to new local talent, the report said.

Yang Sulin, an engineering graduate, stayed at a foreign company for nine months before shifting to a job at the state-owned China Aviation Procurement.

“The competition in foreign companies is fierce and changes are frequent,” Yang said. “You don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the next year.”

Yang was laid off when his company downsized its China business.

“State enterprises are more reliable and stable even though workloads are increasing,” he said, “but I enjoy all the welfares and like the job experience.”

Of students polled, only 55 percent said they would look for a job – 89 percent planned to look for a job last year. Only 1.8 percent said they would study abroad.

“The percentage of students choosing work as the first option has been increasing since 2003 and the number choosing to continue their education either at home or abroad has been decreasing,” according to Ouyang. “This tells us that students are becoming more rational in their approach to higher education overseas.”

Facing a tough job market, students are desperate for work. In 2003, 15 percent planned to start a business, but only 1.4 percent intended to this year despite government appeals to the contrary and generous subsidies for start-ups.