Problems in finding good employees in China?

26 August 2007

A briefing in this week’s Economist (read it here) look into the troubles companies are having in finding talents in China.: “IT SEEMS odd. In the world's most populous region the biggest problem facing employers is a shortage of people. Asia has more than half the planet's inhabitants and is home to many of the world's fastest-growing economies. But some businesses are being forced to reconsider just how quickly they will be able to grow, because they cannot find enough people with the skills they need.

A study by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that 75,000 business leaders will be needed in China in the next ten years. It estimates the current stock at just 3,000 to 5,000. And that assessment could prove optimistic. The study, which covered a broad spectrum of businesses and surveyed more than 80 human-resources managers, found that less than “10% of Chinese job candidates, on average, were suitable for work in a foreign company.”

This talent shortage is predicted to get worse in the year to come with the growth of Chinese companies and increase in foreign investment: ” With such a mismatch between supply and demand in Asia's labour markets, companies will have to become better at hiring good staff and keeping them. But as some companies will always be better at this than others, the job-hopping and poaching are set to continue for many years, until education and training catch up. The consequences of that are stark. “It will limit the growth. It has to,” says Korn/Ferry's Mr Bekins. Which means that without talented recruiting policies, some firms may end up scaling back their bold Asian growth-plans.“