This Week's Herman Trend Alert Telecommuting to a Better Bottom Line

The Herman Trend Alert October 26, 2005 China's Labor Shortage One of China's assets is the country's huge population, although most workers are insufficiently prepared to perform jobs necessary to shift from manufacturing into services and research-based industries. Education is emphasized; large numbers of new graduates are being produced. China will graduate 3.1 million university graduates this year compared with 1.3 million in the United States. The question is graduate quality and capacity to perform the needed work. "Few of China's vast numbers of graduates are capable of working successfully in the services-export sector," says Andrew Grant, director in McKinsey's Shanghai office and author of a report recently released by the consulting firm. "Few of China's vast numbers of graduates are capable of working successfully in the services-export sector. The universities have a theoretical, text-book, fact-based, learn-from-the-master approach," he said. There is also insufficient emphasis on conversational skills in the teaching of English. The report asserts that a shortage of well-trained graduates could hinder growth of the Chinese economy and prevent development of more sophisticated industries. Lack of practical skills and poor English-speaking proficiency suggests difficulty developing industries such as information technology outsourcing that has brought jobs to India over the past decade. India and China compete to attract jobs from developed countries. McKinsey's research is based on interviews with 83 human resources executives who concluded that fewer than 10 percent of graduates in China have the skills to work for a foreign company, compared with 25 percent of graduates in India. The type of education many Chinese students receive does not give them the practical and team-work skills that global companies need. According to McKinsey, China produces about 600,000 new engineers every year, nine times as many as the US. However, of the pool of 1.6 million young engineers in the country, only about 160,000 have practical and language skills to work for a multinational. Multinational corporations also face fierce competition from local companies for employees, given the strong expansion of the Chinese economy. The study said China would need 75,000 managers with some form of global experience in a decade. It currently has only about 5,000 such people. © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." NEED HELP THINKING ABOUT YOUR FUTURE? Our futurists offer thought-provoking and penetrating insights, along with creative ideas to implement right away. Whether you're looking for a speaker or a consultant or a facilitator for your strategic planning retreat, The Herman Group can help you find a person for your needs, no matter what your topic. Call Joyce at 336-210-3548 to discuss your event. REDUCE COSTS BY LOWERING EMPLOYEE TURNOVER If you knew just how much money turnover is costing your company, you would have handled it ages ago! Turnover costs A LOT and it comes right off the bottom line. Let The Herman Group and its team of very experienced consultants help you address your turnover issues right away. We have an impressive track record and stand ready to help you. Call Carol at 800-227-3566; international, call 336-210-3547 for a no-obligation conference call. GOOD SELECTION = BETTER RETENTION If you are not using pre-employment assessments, you are flying without radar---not very smart in today's highly competitive environment. Let us help you better understand your candidates and your employees. In less than 30 minutes, you will know if they can do the job (abilities); their work behaviors, even their personality and attitudes (like integrity & ethics), and those can't be trained. It's very cost effective, too! For more information, contact Joyce at 336-210-3548 or e-mail assessments@hermangroup.com. Validated for many countries and cultures. We offer in-depth help with job descriptions, too! http://www.hermangroup.com/assessments.html. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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