Beijing Encourages Young People to Become Blue-collar Workers: Why is it Difficult to Receive Response?

Despite a significant number of university graduates facing unemployment each year, millions of blue-collar skilled positions are left vacant as young people are reluctant to work in factories. Experts believe that this reluctance is not only due to low wages and lack of respect, but also due to systemic factors related to the Communist Party.

In recent years, a peculiar trend has emerged in mainland China where millions of young people graduate annually only to face unemployment, some ending up as food delivery drivers, livestream hosts, or even “full-time children.” On the other hand, there is a significant shortage of highly skilled workers in factories.

More than 70% of China’s skilled workers are migrant workers, with only 5% being truly skilled, a far cry from Japan’s 40% and Germany’s 50%.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China’s data shows that by 2025, China’s manufacturing industry is expected to face a shortage of 30 million skilled workers.

A report on the employment of blue-collar workers in China in 2022 shows that over half of blue-collar workers have only completed junior high school, while 34.7% have completed high school/vocational school/technical school, and a mere 8.8% have a college degree or higher. The older generation of migrant workers is aging, while the willingness of post-90s and post-00s young people to work in blue-collar jobs is declining.

To encourage young people to work in factories, the Chinese authorities issued guidelines in October 2021 aiming to make Chinese vocational education a world leader by 2035.

The new Vocational Education Law, implemented in May 2022, elevates the status of vocational education by emphasizing its importance equal to that of general education, ensuring that vocational school graduates have equal access to education and employment opportunities.

Despite the society’s demand for skilled workers and the Chinese government’s efforts, many young people still choose jobs like food delivery or livestream hosting over working in factories as blue-collar workers.

Media reports have previously cited low wages, lack of respect for vocational education, and shortage of skilled teachers as major reasons for this trend.

In the past two decades, vocational high school students in China have been generally viewed as lacking talent, often associated with street gangs or sleeping in class. Consequently, vocational schools are seen as a last resort.

Reports from South China Morning Post indicate that compared to other countries, wages for Chinese skilled workers are significantly lower. Han Qifang, a senior technician at Zhejiang Morning Cable Co., stated that the income of blue-collar workers in China still lags considerably behind that of Germany or Japan.

Han remarked, “The income of Chinese blue-collar workers is still substantially lower compared to Germany or Japan.”

Han further noted that due to the low wages for blue-collar workers, even the worst-performing students end up in vocational schools, creating a negative perception of vocational education in society.

South China Morning Post also highlighted that less than 10% of teachers in Chinese secondary vocational schools have professional manufacturing or business management experience, with only about 15% of teachers receiving enterprise technical training, as qualification certificates are a barrier for technical workers to enter educational institutions.

Historian Li Yuanhua from Australia expressed to the Epoch Times that there is a disconnect between China’s education system and society, with over 90% of current teachers primarily focusing on theoretical courses, particularly prominent in vocational education. He noted the lack of practical opportunities for students and the failure to meet basic societal demands after graduation.

American economist Davy J. Wong also shared with the Epoch Times that vocational school teachers lack a genuine industry background, limiting their instruction to theoretical knowledge rather than practical skills. He emphasized the lack of career advancement opportunities and noted that many workers ultimately leave the industry for other sectors.

However, these surface-level issues may stem from deeper, ingrained systemic problems within the Communist Party.

Since the Communist Party began economic reforms in the last century, China has fostered a vast class of non-productive, idle officials enjoying privileges and generous welfare benefits, contrasting starkly with the unprotected and marginalized migrant workers who must toil incessantly for sustenance, leading to a societal perception that working in factories is synonymous with failure.

Li Yuanhua pointed out that for a long time, Chinese enterprises have predominantly employed low-skilled workers, offering them meager wages and minimal benefits. This practice has perpetuated the stigma associated with working in factories as being low-status and less desirable, discouraging many from seeking such employment.

He highlighted that in some Western countries, blue-collar workers earn higher incomes than white-collar workers, with Australia being an example where blue-collar incomes surpass white-collar incomes by a significant margin. Additionally, the income of advanced blue-collar workers is even more substantial. Contrarily, in China, university graduates who choose to work as blue-collar workers typically receive lower salaries than those entering corporate or governmental positions, leading to disparities in income and social status.

Chinese affairs expert Wang He remarked to the Epoch Times that Chinese factories are often referred to as sweatshops, characterized by intense labor and low compensation. In this environment, it is understandable why the younger generations, born in the 1990s and 2000s, hold factory work in contempt.

Wong noted that within China’s political system, there has never been a genuine establishment of an honor system for blue-collar workers. Societal opinions and cultural beliefs continue to idolize officials, stifling the recognition of skilled labor. Unlike industrialized Western nations that venerate blue-collar workers, provide them with substantial benefits and social welfare, China lags in affording esteem and esteem to its blue-collar workforce.

“It’s not laziness that keeps young people from working in factories, but rather a societal resistance linked to their classification as low-status individuals,” Wong explained.

In efforts to cultivate so-called new productive forces, authorities are focusing on supporting emerging industries and artificial intelligence manufacturing, encouraging students to pursue vocational education to become skilled workers.

Chinese Communist Party leaders have made frequent visits to vocational schools, touting slogans like “360 professions, each producing talent” and aiming to vigorously develop a skilled workforce.

Li Yuanhua cast doubt on the notion of China producing a skilled workforce, asserting that skilled workers do not emerge out of thin air but require a community with a strong learning capacity and professional dedication to foster exceptional craftsmen. If individuals who lack learning abilities and professional dedication are steered towards blue-collar jobs, the goal of creating exemplary skilled workers remains an empty ideal.

Wang He stated that Chinese society is impulsive, focused on imitation and shortcuts, resulting in many workers lacking the willingness to acquire technical expertise.

“To nurture a skilled worker takes time – at least five to ten years. In a society focused on imitation, there are few who can truly commit to learning technical skills and evolving into skilled workers,” Wang added.

Wang emphasized that countries like Germany and Japan have successfully integrated schools, society, and businesses in training vocational skilled workers. Their well-established systems offer favorable treatment and social standing, making individuals keen to enter factory jobs. The strong tradition of craftsmanship in these countries is closely tied to the cultivation of highly skilled workers.

Wong remarked that craftsmanship cannot be cultivated through political slogans alone. It necessitates a blend of cultural beliefs, industrial systems, social security systems, education structures, labor respect, and political rights.

“If workers’ political rights, labor security, and social welfare cannot be realized, the concept of craftsmanship is merely a patch in propaganda,” Wong explained.

Wong emphasized that the issue is not merely about young people choosing to work or avoid factories but reflects broader systemic problems within Chinese society, impacting values, social mobility, and other factors.

“The problem in China is not the lack of outstanding young people but the absence of a market that motivates young individuals to engage, as well as insufficient social security and political rights that would earn workers respect,” Wong concluded.