Local college graduates losing career edge to latest home-grown crop

The desire of mainland companies to hire Hong Kong college graduates has declined sharply, while more of these graduates have been considering going to develop careers on the mainland, compared with five years ago, according to a survey released Thursday.

The mainland's robust economic growth and greater opportunities have attracted more local college students willing to work there. The survey indicated that 65.8 percent of them have considered applying for jobs on the mainland, 13.7 percent higher than in 2005.

On the other hand, only 20 percent of mainland companies surveyed were willing to hire Hong Kong college graduates this year. The number has dropped significantly from over 60 percent in 2003 and 2005.

Moreover, the number of mainland companies currently employing Hong Kong people has decreased greatly when compared with the levels in past years. Only 7 percent of respondents have Hong Kong employees, while the percentage was 26.7 in 2005 and 57.5 in 2003.

"Mainland companies are much less dependent on Hong Kong talent now, since they can find people they want in today's mainland job market," said Roy Lo, chairman of the committee overseeing the survey on employment opportunity for Hong Kong college students on the mainland.

Echoing the implication of the data, Lo suggested that Hong Kong people are gradually losing the advantages they used to have.

There have been five attributes of Hong Kong college graduates that have attracted mainland employers, including great English proficiency, possession of a global outlook, a good understanding of Western culture, a high level of professionalism and high efficiency.

However, the survey revealed that except for professionalism and efficiency, mainland employers' recognition and appreciation of Hong Kong people's performance in the other three aspects has been declining.

"In the past, mainlanders were not strong in English. But now, many young people have come back after studying abroad. Their English is very good," Lo said.

Besides, the survey also shows that mainland employers find Hong Kong college graduates less attractive, because they cannot speak good Putonghua, lack understanding of Chinese culture and are too demanding regarding working conditions.

The grading of Hong Kong people's working performance, as evaluated by mainland employers, has continued its decline from 3.72 in 2003 to 3.32 in 2005, to 2.84 in this year.

Nearly half of the Hong Kong college students surveyed expect a salary of above 7,000 yuan, while only 2 percent of mainland companies want to pay that much, with almost 70 percent of mainland companies being willing to offer only between 1,000 to 3,000 yuan per month.

Lo advised the college graduates who would like to pursue a career on the mainland to, as a first step, adjust their salary requirements and to understand the mainland market.

"Don't be shortsighted," he said. Although in the first years the salary level on the mainland cannot catch up with Hong Kong's, there is a huge demand in the mainland market for talents with a few years of experience, and the salaries are poised to increase rapidly in the future, he added.

Lo also indicated that obtaining a mainland professional certification cannot help much in getting hired by mainland companies. "Mainland employers expect Hong Kong talents to have professional knowledge that mainlanders don't," he said. He reminded Hongkongers to maintain the advantage of high-level professionalism that they acquired in Hong Kong.

The survey, conducted by Asia Pacific Junior Elite Association and International Financial Management Association, was based on interviews with 316 middle-to-large-scale companies on the mainland and 550 college students in Hong Kong.

China Daily

(HK Edition 04/30/2010 page1)