National Day and Mid Autumn Festival 1st –8th Oct 2009.

(JM Gemini return to work on Friday 9 Oct 2009; their offices will also be open on Saturday 10 Oct 2009)

China's unemployment situation remains grave despite some signs of economic recovery in the first half of 2009, according to Wang Yadong, an official of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Wang said 18 million migrant workers returned home jobless before the Spring Festival in January, "As the financial crisis forced closure of factories in the coastal regions where they used to work." The figure is based on a survey jointly conducted by the ministry and the National Bureau of Statistics during the Spring Festival - and is two million less than the 20 million unemployed migrant workers quoted by official sources at the time.

"Three million college graduates from 2009 are also still unemployed, representing 32 per cent of this year's record 6.11 million total of university graduates," Wang added.

China's total number of urban unemployed was 9.06 million at the end of June, "down 90,000 from the end of the first quarter," according to state media.

A recent article in the Recruitment Today newsletter from the UK concerns a new European directive aimed at protecting agency (temporary staff) workers (see article below).

Public service union UNISON has called on the UK Government to do the right thing by agency workers when it brings in the EU Agency Workers’ Directive (AWD). In its submission to the consultation, the union is calling for the directive to take a wide view of basic employment rights and the definition of agency workers, and to implement the directive in full during this Parliament.

Dave Prentis, UNISON General Secretary, said: "It is time to do the right thing by temporary and agency workers by ensuring the directive includes a wide view of basic employment rights. We want to see, for example, agency workers getting paid maternity, paternity and adoption leave. They should also be entitled to bonuses, training, redundancy and holiday pay and have access to workplace facilities such as childcare and transport services. The directive must include a broad and clear definition of agency workers, leaving unscrupulous employers no loopholes to get around the law."

When using J. M. Gemini's temporary, contractor or payroll solutions you can rest easy that all our staff assigned to our client companies receive the same compensation and benefits entitlement as full time permanent employees. For further details please contact theresaf@jmgemini.com

There are unique opportunities in China's education and training industry. As competition in the labour market intensifies, more Chinese are seeking ways to upgrade their knowledge and skill sets. Large domestic corporations are turning to training as a key component of their retention strategy. There is now immense demand for training in the industry, particularly in the areas of language, IT and soft skills training.

Market Overview

The education and training market in China grew at about 12 per cent in 2008, and is expected to reach USD 200 bn in value by 2010. The market for traditional English language training is nearly saturated; though valued at USD 2.2 bn in 2008, there are more than 50,000 companies in this sector. The children’s education sector is expected to grow rapidly and exceed USD 12 bn by 2010 as parents find it increasingly important to supplement their children’s compulsory education.

Emerging Opportunities

Practical skills training, especially oral English, managerial and other business-related soft skills, continue to be popular among the Chinese. There is strong demand from companies seeking qualified and skilled managers, scarce commodities in China. Demand for practical skills training is also being driven by individuals seeking competitive advantages in the labour market. Parents are investing more in their children's education and training as it is seen as a way to secure a better future for them.

When branding your offering in the education and training industry in China, consider:

• Reputation. A well-reputed service provider gives its customer assurance of its quality and engages qualified trainers.

• Foreignness. Foreign brands are generally associated with quality. In particular, international teaching methods are deemed to provide students with an international perspective.

• Customisation. Tailored courses are deemed better in helping students to overcome specific problems or gaining advantages over their peers.

• Challenges Ahead
  Despite all the opportunities in the education and training industry, entrants can expect to face several challenges in China, including:

• Overcapacity ( especially children's education) protection of intellectual property rights;

• Difficulty of selling soft skills training to Chinese companies; and

• Unfamiliar and rapidly changing regulatory environment.

Challenges exist, but can be overcome. With an annual growth of more than 20 per cent across some sectors in China's education and training industry, this is a market that should not be neglected.

Source Chinabiz.

If you would like to know more about recruiting talent in China, please contact www.jmgemini.com

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