Labor boom prompts call for additional vocational training
November 13th, 2017
A technician of CRRC Qingdao Sifang Co Ltd, a high-speed train manufacturer, gives instructions to students at a vocational school in Shandong Province.
The labor market needs more vocational education to lift the number of skilled workers in China, experts said at a recent seminar.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the working population in China will face a sharp drop to 700 million by 2050 from 911 million in 2015.
Such a drop is sparking the demand for vocational education and creating a profound market. At the seminar held by JP Morgan, experts addressed on the importance of vocational education.
"The speed of industrial upgrading is going beyond expectation," said Hao Jianbin, director of the Entrepreneurship and Employment Research Center at the Ali Research Institute. "It raised the salary for low-end labor and pushed the manufacturing factories (that) required less skills moving abroad."
He said it is not very likely the quantity of labor can increase in the short run. Hence the market needs to see more investment in human resources to train more skilled workers to make up for the shortfall.
According to Qianzhan Industry Research Institute's report, the market for vocational education in 2015 was 453.5 billion yuan ($68.3 billion), and the number is expected to double by 2020, creating a trillion-yuan market.
To promote people's employability in the fierce job market, some vocational education has already seen a growing volume of students. Emerald Group, an education institution focusing on inter-net technology and digital entertainment, is one example.
"We have seen a rising demand for internet engineers in the domestic job market every year since it is a very prospective occupation," said Chen Shengdong, chief executive officer of the group. "More and more graduates come here to enhance their competitive edge in the labor market."
Chen said the institution will constantly change their course syllabi according to what is hot in the labor market, thereby serving the companies that are upgrading but struggling to find suitable employees.
From January to August this year, net profit of the group has reached 50.25 million yuan. The group is expected to bring in an annual 90 million yuan in net profit and predicts a stable 30 percent growth rate during the next two years.
Education in the high-end financial sector is also booming. Earlier this year, PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, started its You Plus Special Training Program in Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City.
According to PwC's report, more than 80 percent of senior executives in Chinese corporations said it is hard to find talent with practical problem-solving skills.
The full-time PwC program lasts for 12 months and can cost up to 300,000 yuan.
Cai Xiaoying, general manager of You Plus, said such training will help solve the imbalance between the supply and demand in human resources for Chinese corporations.
China's Internet of Things output reaches 930 bln yuan in 2016
November 10th, 2017China's industrial output in the Internet of Things exceeded 930 billion yuan (140 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology official said Thursday.
The value was almost six-times the level in 2009, when the sector saw 170 billion yuan of output, said Zhu Wan, deputy head of informatization and software service at the ministry, at the opening of a China Internet of Things conference in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian Province.
"Industrial chains have been formed in chips, sensors, terminal devices, application software, system integration and communication networks, with over 100 million machine-to-machine terminals set up via the mobile communication network," Zhu said.
In June, the ministry announced faster development of the Internet of Things infrastructure, and innovation in Internet of Things pilot zones. The zones aim to promote the Internet of Things in public safety, health care, urban management and well-being services.
"Accomplishment has been primarily achieved at the pilot zones, such as Fuzhou economic and technical development zone, with the Internet of Things integrated in fields of retail, transport, environmental protection, medical care and power grids," she said.
Zhu said the ministry would help companies that were influential and industry leaders, as well as encourage the creation of small and medium-sized Internet of Things startups.
Over 1,000 new products to debut at China hi-tech fair
November 9th, 2017More than 1,000 new products will be released at the China Hi-tech Fair 2017 next week in the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, authorities said Wednesday.
Scheduled for Nov. 16 to 21, the fair is themed "Innovation-driven development and supply quality upgrade," said Gao Yuyue, deputy secretary-general of Shenzhen city government, at a press conference.
More than 50 roadshows have been arranged for the fair to introduce new products, including an Intel robot 3D sorting system and a flexible rechargeable battery developed by the Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Advanced Technology.
The fair will have 12 exhibition zones, covering a total area of 120,000 square meters, said Gao, also deputy secretary-general of the fair's organizing committee
He said hi-tech products in environmental protection, biological sciences, new energy, new material, military and civil integration, and sensor technology would feature in the zones.
Around 100 technical meetings have also been scheduled on topics such as artificial intelligence, energy saving, aeronautics and astronautics, the Internet of Things, new material and smart cities.
The fair will be attended by more than 3,000 registered exhibitors from over 30 countries, including 27 Belt and Road countries.
The annual China Hi-tech Fair was inaugurated in 1999, and is the largest and the most influential state-level international fair in science and technology in China.
The Chinese ministries of commerce, science and technology, industry and information technology, agriculture, and the National Development and Reform Commission are among the co-organizers.
China's cloud computing market projected to reach 686.6 bln yuan by 2020
November 8th, 2017China's cloud computing industry will grow by at least 30 percent year on year on average in the coming five years, the latest industry report showed.
By 2020, the aggregate market size of the country's cloud computing industry is expected to hit 686.6 billion yuan (about 103.6 billion U.S. dollars), according to the Report of Prospects and Investment Strategy Planning on China Cloud Computing Industry (2017-2022) published by Forward Intelligence Co., Ltd., a special market research institute.
The country's cloud computing industry has experienced robust growth since 2010 and its market size reached 178.2 billion yuan in 2016, up 18.8 percent year on year, said the report.
The growth was propelled mainly by public departments, who serve both as the customer and the government, as well as by telecom operators, the service provider.
Cloud-based infrastructure or infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) is playing a key role in the industrial development, while factors include the adoption of platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and software-as-a-service (SaaS) are also growing fast, according to the report.
The central government attaches great importance to using emerging information technology, including cloud computing and the Internet of Things, to shore up the digital economy, as information consumption, mobile payments and e-commerce grow rapidly in the country.
The cloud computing market is expanding fast worldwide. Last month, American market research firm Gartner's latest worldwide public cloud services revenue forecast showed the cloud computing market would reach 411 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, driven by robust growth of services including IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, according to media reports.
Cloud computing, also called on-demand computing, is the delivery of on-demand computing resources over the internet.
China expects favorable trade environment in 2018
November 7th, 2017China's foreign trade environment will remain favorable in 2018, although the trade protectionism risks still keep growing, the commerce ministry said on Monday.
The Chinese government is implementing policies to cool the property sector and deal with debt risks in the economy. China's stronger than expected trade performance this year has provided support for the economy.
"Looking forward to 2018, China's foreign trade conditions are generally favorable as the global economy steadily recovers, and China's economy grows smoothly," the ministry said.
"But there are still many external risks and uncertainties with economic and non-economic factors intertwined. As trade protectionism continues to grow, domestic costs also continue to rise. As a result, pressure on business has increased, and the development of China's foreign trade continues to face many difficulties and challenges."
After several years of contraction, China's foreign trade has recovered this year, even though the government has not set a specific target for international trade growth in past two years.
Growth in foreign trade may slow down, but will remain at a high level in the fourth quarter, a ministry report said.
Economists expect China's exports have risen 7.2 percent on-year in October, slower than 8.1 percent the previous month.
Economists are positive about the Chinese export outlook due to the improvement in the global economy. Capital Economist Evans-Pritchard, still feels that China's imports may face "a sharper slowdown," because of that the support to the economy from a loose fiscal policy reverses. And local governments are forced to rein in spending in the final months of the year to meet budget targets.
With a GDP growth of 6.9 percent in the first half, China's economy is also on firmer footing this year, contributing to brisk import growth.
The IMF raised its forecast for China growth for the fourth time this year in its latest report. The IMF predicts that China's economy will grow 6.8 percent this year, and 6.5 percent next year, both 0.1 percentage point higher than its previous forecasts.
Sodexo Group strengthens integrated support services for mainland corporates
November 6th, 2017Sodexo Group, a French services giant specializing in traditional segments such as catering and engineering, is expanding in the Chinese mainland market, its largest target in Asia, by enhancing its integrated corporate services in 50 Chinese cities.
Such services include asset lifecycle management, workplace setting improvement, facility and equipment maintenance.
As China opened up its services sector to strengthen industry, Sodexo started developing its business in more mid-western cities. Its on-site offerings now include business support services, lifestyle services and scientific services.
Optimal use of human resources; design, installation and maintenance of aesthetically appealing entrance areas, inner courtyards, terraces and floral decoration; upkeep of sophisticated buildings ... all these functions are now performed by Sodexo for its clients.
"We will cater to diverse segments as our clients are increasing," said Bruno Vaquette, CEO of Sodexo China. "For example, we're introducing wellness services in China as part of our 'Mindful' project."
The services, including staff training courses, have already become popular in some metropolises, thanks to agreements with corporate icons such as JD.com Inc and St Luke's Hospital in Shanghai.
The Sept 1 agreement with JD was for upgrading Sodexo's supply management.
Sodexo's wellness services include entertainment sessions and enjoyable short breaks during off-work periods, which are designed to raise awareness of fitness among employees of its corporate clients.
"Chinese companies have recognized the significance of employees' fitness to their business, and are investing more to improve the quality of their life. Their leaders know that employees' happiness is key to the company's success," Vaquette said.
"We will respond to industry trends and needs via innovation and more services."
With 425,000 employees worldwide, Sodexo takes the 19th rank among the world's largest employers and figures in the Global 500 list. Its China unit company employs 12,000 staff.
"Our Chinese on-site employees are all local people, and are supported by thousands of in-house experts, which helps in delivering services in time as per clients' demands," said Vaquette.
Paul Junck, managing director of the Luxembourg Private Equity & Venture Capital Association, said, "Opening up the services market is mutually beneficial for foreign investors and Chinese domestic players. Companies' development is stimulated by competition between players, and industry standards rise thanks to such development."