China's dilema
According to Chinese government report, over 32% of recent college graduates in China are unemployed. And even some of those who are employed are working in jobs that have nothing to do with their education. Chinese newspapers are full of stories of college graduates working as cashiers, waiters, cooks, assembly-line workers, and even garbage collectors. In fact, the prospects for college educated graduates are worse than for low-skilled laborers. In 2011 alone, wages for labor workers rose 14.9 % but wages for college educated workers only rose 0.8%. While college education has been considered a ticket to a brighter future in China, but today it is very bleak because most college graduates do not have the skills to work in the industry.
Over the last decade, China's college-educated population has multiplied eightfold, from 830,000 graduating in 1998 to 6.8 million in 2012 but its education system that dated back in the 60s had not change much so most of what they learned is obsolete. Of course, graduates of the very best schools such as Peking University, Tsinghua, Fudan, and Shanghai Jiaotong can expect good employment prospects, but the millions of graduates from second- or third-tier schools are facing a much more difficult as most of them do not have the right skills and the current knowledge and will not be able to get good jobs. An industry analyst explains: “Many students and their family still believe that a college degree will get them good job. That was true twenty years ago but not anymore as technology changes but education system does not. There is no guidance for students, no information of what industry needs, no direction of where the economy is headed but students are encouraged to go to college without any plan for their future. Because of the one child per family, each student is supported by the whole family to go to college but no one explain to them what to study so many select impractical areas such as art, literature, history or sociology and recently theater, drama and music which are not in high demand which resulting in a high numbers of unemployed graduates.”
In this way, the story of Meng Hua, 22, has been typical. On the advice of a friend who told her that modeling jobs would be good, she decided to study theater and music and hope to become a movie star or a fashion model. After graduated, she found that there are no such jobs as actress and model. She worked briefly as a music teacher, then selling cell phones in a market, eventually worked as a secretary in an insurance company. However, in just few months she quit after being treated badly by other male workers. She admitted: “These are not good jobs for single women, it paid less and you have to deal with much harassment because of your look. There is nothing worse than working as a secretary in a male dominated industry. She now works as an electronic assembler in the city of Guangzhou, sharing an apartment with ten other girls; most of them have no formal education. She works 12-hour days and says that she is “exhausting" all the time. Asked about her college education, she said: “It is very hard to describe the feelings of disappointment and frustration. If I knew, I would be studying something else that has better future.”
For the past twenty years, much of China's growth has been fueled by low cost labor sectors like manufacturing and construction so there were fewer jobs for college graduates. As a result, many college graduates have decided to embrace the labor worker lifestyle. Out of low skilled labor workers in 2011, fully 35% had college degrees, according to a survey by the China Federation of Trade Unions. A government officer admitted: “I don't think that anyone with a college degree would dreams of working in a factory. However, they do so because it's the best they can get and the wages they get are better they can get in an office as secretary or sale person.” One recent architecture graduate, Zhu Wei, 24, had to content himself with a job as a factory's assembly line after failing to find any work that used his skills as an architect: “What I learned in school is not related to my work, but I must accept the reality rather than live off my parents' support”
In 2010, a Chinese professor popularized the term “Ant tribe” to describe the large population of college graduates crammed in small low rent apartments in the slums outside major cities. Many worked low paying labor jobs such as night garbage collectors just to pay the rent. The professor estimated that there were several million of these "ants" in major Chinese cities in 2010, making an average of $286 dollars a month: “These are hopeless people who left home because their parents could not support them anymore. After paying for their college education most family run out of money. When their saving is gone, there is not much they can do. After many years without job, they migrate to the slums and live off garbage, most work at night to avoid meeting people who may recognize them and it is very sad. It is the education system that failed them. Most believe in the old tradition of having a college degree will give them good job but today a college degree from a second tier or third tier university is worthless. They learned nothing but memorize old theories and facts that nobody need, some even have to bribe teachers to pass exams or get degree but after that they have nothing as their knowledge is obsolete and they have no skills. China's economy is driven mostly by low labor works for export but not for internal development. The more products they can export the more money the government can get but it is not distributed to its people. There is no strategy to develop the country so a college education is a waste of effort and brain power.”
Chinese government has tried to cope with the problem for many years without any solution. One strategy has been to warn students to stay away from fields of study with the highest unemployment rates deemed “red majors.” In June of 2012, the government named nine “red majors,” which included arts, theaters, literatures, sociology, geography, photography, sports education, and law. There is a so-called “green majors” the ones with the highest rates of employment include engineering, computer, and biotechnology, medical, coastal and ship engineering. Few months ago, government announced a plan to offer loans of up to $15,000 to each entrepreneur who started a company. The government urged jobless people to start their own company to reduce unemployment or consider moving back to the countryside to become farmers. An industry analyst commend: “They do not understand anything about entrepreneurship. To start a company in today environment must begin with technology. With the archaic education system where most engineers and computer graduates could not even find jobs, how could they expect them to innovate or create something new? Another student also posted in his blog: “As country boys, we are encouraged to go to cities to have good education. Now after graduate, we are told to go back to the countryside and work as farmers. What kind of policy is that? Are we going back to the 18th century?” Despite all these efforts, the problem persists. Graduation ceremonies this year have been marked by a lot of sarcastic protests. New graduates in many universities dressed up as labor workers or in garbage collector uniforms to show how frustrate they are with the government's economy policies.
Much of the anger has to do with the uneducated labor workers not only have an easier time finding jobs, but also make nearly as much money as college-educated ones. In 2011, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average college graduate made an average of $200 dollars per month. Yet the average Chinese labor worker makes $192 dollars per month. After investing years in an expensive university education, many young Chinese are irked by workers who could earn $300 dollars a month as a ship painter or construction workers in Shanghai. A student explains: “From outside looking in, we have made significant progress with hundreds of buildings in construction all over China, we have the fast trains, big ships and many modern highways but the fact is inside it is all empty as the government only put in a good show. There is no real knowledge and good skills to develop the country for the 21st century. When the whole effort is only for export, nothing is left for its citizen. When the whole effort is on building physical things, nothing is left for knowledge building.” A government officer said: “The process of improvement take time, citizen must learn to be patient as we are making progress. Anyone who thinks difference is just dreaming. As China's economy improves there will be more jobs for everybody.”
Recently, China's government has tried to discourage investing hope in a college education. An editorial in China's state-run agency urged young people that “There is nothing to be ashamed if you work with your hands, after all labor works are good for the country.” However, there is a dark cloud in low labor manufacturing work too as more companies are quickly relocating works back home as the insourcing trend begin to take shape, more factories begin to shut down and laid off workers. In 2011, there were several thousand labor workers lost jobs and the number is kept increasing.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
