Recruiting in China

Some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that’s the case, Canadian immigration officials should be flattered.

According to Chinese news media, China will be introducing a list of skills currently in demand in the country, in order to aid its recruitment of foreign talent.

A report in the China Daily in late September quoted an unnamed foreign affairs official saying Beijing is “identifying shortages in the domestic labour market” to “learn what types of workers (domestic firms) felt are hard to find.”

The wording strikes an uncanny resemblance to what Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander said in Vancouver just two weeks ago — that the federal government, through its Expression of Interest program, is looking to fill areas where there is specific labour needs with foreign talent.

Also shared by Beijing’s announcement and Alexander’s speech was a call to private enterprise to help the central governments compile the most up-to-date list possible, so the foreign talent being brought into the country can immediately integrate and contribute.

Coincidence? More than likely. But the fact that a major power in global politics is now taking a similar model as Canada in identifying and addressing domestic talent deficiencies demonstrates both the effectiveness of the Canadian system and the fierce competition for the best and the brightest around the world.

Beijing’s announcement came two years after the city of Shanghai began publishing its own oversea recruitment list, according to China Daily. The list was modest in size — 72 positions that nine state-owned enterprises were looking to fill.

The national skills list is to be published next year, although no other details, such as the number of positions needing to be filled, have been released. It is unlikely that the numbers would be as large as the Canadian program — Beijing specified “foreign recruitment,” not “immigration,” as the key process of gaining talent, indicating they are looking to fill only the top echelon of the labour market.

Still, with China looking for talents in the management, technology and science fields, and the market’s access to a region where the two biggest economies (China and Japan) are both on the rise this year (not to mention the growing importance of the Southeast Asian markets, led by the big six of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), the attractiveness of the opportunities for foreign workers speaks for itself.

In some places closer to China, the draw of Beijing is already rivalling that of the United States. The South Korean government released data last week that 62,855 Korean students studied in China in 2012, almost quadruple the number (16,372) recorded in 2001.

The data also shows, however, that North America — both the U.S. and Canada — continue to be extremely popular, as well. Seoul’s figures put the Korean student population in the United States at 73,351, the most of any nation around the world. Canada, meanwhile, sits third at 20,658, followed by Japan and Australia.

What this means is that, while Canada may be faced with other countries competing for the same foreign talents, it still has an inherent attractiveness to immigrants and potential labour. The key, however, is not to become complacent — because, as it can be seen above, the competition is fierce.