Recently, the announcement of intended hiring by Sichuan Luzhou Huarun Xinglu Gas Co., Ltd. has sparked public attention. Among the three incoming “meter reading and maintenance workers,” two have graduated from prestigious universities both domestically and internationally, including Peking University and the University of Edinburgh in the UK. Their majors are in International Economics and Trade, International Relations, and Art Design, respectively, leading to a wide-ranging discussion among netizens regarding the match between the positions and their majors.
According to reports from various media outlets such as China National Radio, on May 23rd, Luzhou Huarun Xinglu Gas Co., Ltd. issued a recruitment notice, aiming to hire three meter reading and maintenance workers to be stationed at various township management offices in Luzhou City. The job requirements include a college degree or above, no specific major required, with preference given to those with experience in the gas industry and relevant certifications for specialized equipment operation.
The list of intended hires announced on June 6th revealed that the three individuals are: 24-year-old Zeng, a graduate student in International Relations from the University of Edinburgh; 41-year-old Luo, an undergraduate in International Economics and Trade from Peking University; and 39-year-old Wang, with a college degree in Art Design from Sichuan Normal University.
Although the recruitment announcement did not impose strict restrictions based on majors, there have been doubts raised regarding the employment of candidates with high academic qualifications and backgrounds in liberal arts. Many netizens questioned the relevance of the strong technical skills required for jobs like steel pipe welding and hot cutting to the majors pursued by the three individuals, raising concerns about the existence of a potential “square peg in a round hole” situation for these positions.
In response to this, retired sociology professor Liu Ming from Tsinghua University stated in an interview with Epoch Times that “In China, for a highly educated graduate to take on work that high school students can do was unthinkable in the past, but now with over ten million university graduates annually and a university employment rate of less than 30%, high-caliber graduates face immense psychological pressure. State-owned enterprises hold great attraction for them, especially in privileged industries like the gas sector. If high-achieving graduates join such companies, there might be more room for advancement.”
Fang Bin, a labor and human resources expert from Hunan, suggested that among the three individuals selected, there could be someone with a “special background.” He stated, “Experience tells us that state-owned enterprises often employ a ‘low threshold for recruitment, high internal mobility’ approach, promoting certain individuals after hiring. Such practices have occurred before, for instance, where a local official wanted to bring a specific person into a state-owned enterprise but was concerned about being discovered, hence used recruitment as a means of ‘targeted hiring.'”
Political scientist Huang Kaiyang also warned, “The entry of highly educated individuals into the system reflects a preference for stable positions within the institutional culture, but at the same time, we should be cautious whether this is squeezing the employment opportunities for frontline grassroots workers, exacerbating the contradictions between officials and the public.”
Responding to media and public skepticism, the discipline department of Huarun Xinglu Gas Co., Ltd. stated on June 9th that they had not received any reports or complaints regarding the three individuals in question.
The company’s human resources department emphasized that the recruitment process was carried out legally and in accordance with regulations. Resumes were reviewed by the company for interviews and assessment, with recruitment based on meeting basic qualifications. The department staff disclosed that there was no written test in the recruitment process, and the appointed individuals must obtain relevant gas industry qualifications before becoming regular employees. Regarding future job placements, the department mentioned, “Adjustments are definitely possible, they won’t be doing meter reading and maintenance forever.”
On social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo, some netizens raised questions, “Meter reading work is dirty and tiring, are liberal arts students really suitable for it?” while others pointed out, “With so many master’s degree holders available nowadays, who wouldn’t want a stable job?” Some were more blunt, stating, “State-owned enterprise positions have become a ‘safe haven’ for the highly educated, thereby weakening the nature of grassroots positions.”
According to information cited by some media outlets from Tianyancha, Luzhou Huarun Xinglu Gas Co., Ltd. is a municipal state-owned enterprise, with Huar