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Migrant workers earn more than graduates
By Yangcheng Evening News |
July 31, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A SURVEY by Tsinghua University of college graduates' income has once again attracted attention. It found that 69 percent of students who graduated in 2011 were paid less than 2,000 yuan (US$314) a month for their first job. Meanwhile, the National Statistics Bureau said migrant workers' monthly wages reached a record 2,049 yuan a month in 2011.
There have been similar comparisons of graduates' and migrants' wages in the past. Last year, a migrant worker from Shaanxi Province was shocked to learn that his son, a college graduate, earned less than he did. His skepticism triggered a debate on the value of tertiary education in China.
Though graduates work in very different, albeit no nobler, fields than migrants, the wage gap does call for some reflection, especially about the ailments afflicting Chinese economy and education. One reason for the wage gap is that universities often do not turn out the type of graduates the market wants. Unlike vocational schools, colleges are torn between the choices of offering research-oriented education or job-oriented education. This has resulted in a mismatch between job recruiters' demands and graduates' marketable skills. It's therefore natural for graduates to have a starting salary lower than many migrants'.
Here is my solution. Vocational education should be strengthened, while some college graduates may choose to stay behind and do research.
We have been sloganeering for years about the shift from a manufacturing-driven to a creation-based economy. It hasn't materialized.
The market is where the rubber meets the road. Manufacturing needs skilled workers, not those only with glamorous CVs. At the current stage, the job market is filled with manufacturing firms. That's the reason migrants are better paid than college graduates.
If the Chinese economy remains reliant on low-end manufacturing for job creation, the job and pay prospects of students earning less than migrants won't change for some time to come.
There have been similar comparisons of graduates' and migrants' wages in the past. Last year, a migrant worker from Shaanxi Province was shocked to learn that his son, a college graduate, earned less than he did. His skepticism triggered a debate on the value of tertiary education in China.
Though graduates work in very different, albeit no nobler, fields than migrants, the wage gap does call for some reflection, especially about the ailments afflicting Chinese economy and education. One reason for the wage gap is that universities often do not turn out the type of graduates the market wants. Unlike vocational schools, colleges are torn between the choices of offering research-oriented education or job-oriented education. This has resulted in a mismatch between job recruiters' demands and graduates' marketable skills. It's therefore natural for graduates to have a starting salary lower than many migrants'.
Here is my solution. Vocational education should be strengthened, while some college graduates may choose to stay behind and do research.
We have been sloganeering for years about the shift from a manufacturing-driven to a creation-based economy. It hasn't materialized.
The market is where the rubber meets the road. Manufacturing needs skilled workers, not those only with glamorous CVs. At the current stage, the job market is filled with manufacturing firms. That's the reason migrants are better paid than college graduates.
If the Chinese economy remains reliant on low-end manufacturing for job creation, the job and pay prospects of students earning less than migrants won't change for some time to come.
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