State-owned enterprises and institutes are now screening postgraduate students as prospective employees, but they fear that many students will be lured to multinationals, where salaries can be as much as five times higher.
It has happened in the past, and it will probably happen again, said representatives of government-run firms and institutes.
"We welcome people with master's and doctorates to participate in our research and development work," said Zhang Jian, human resource director of Shanghai Petrochemical Co. Ltd. But Zhang doubts that the perks the company offers will be enough to get the employees it wants on board.
"The company has incentives, such as free or low-cost housing and on-the-job and overseas training programs for top-tier employees," said Zhang, whose company plans to recruit about 90 postgraduates next year, an increase of 30 percent over this year.
But the monthly salary is only 2,000 yuan (US$241), while a multinational chemical giant can pay as much as 10,000 yuan.
Zhang said some of the people he wanted went instead to multinationals, such as German-based BASF AG.
Officials at state-owned giant Baosteel also said they have felt the pinch of international competition. Baosteel has spent 47 million yuan(US$5.69 million) on grooming new employees seen as having much potential, sending them to postgraduate programs overseas and placing them in jobs in Japan and the United States, they said.
However, of the 25 postgraduate applicants Baosteel hired five years ago, only five remain with the firm, said a personnel official who declined to be identified.
Hua Ming, an economics professor at Fudan University, said, "State-run enterprise need to sweeten their compensation packages to be more attractive to job seekers."
(eastday.com December 6, 2001)
