Difficulties in recruiting workers in the manufacturing industry and seeking new solutions
——Survey on recruitment and employment of some manufacturing enterprises in Jiangsu and Hunan
Our reporter Li Yanzhen
Recently, the "difficulties in recruiting" and "labor shortage" problems of manufacturing companies in some regions such as Jiangsu and Hunan have once again become prominent, which has aroused great public concern.
Why do manufacturing companies in these areas frequently experience "labor shortages"?
How to effectively break the ice and successfully break through?
What are the ways to promote the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry and achieve high-quality employment in the manufacturing sector?
The phenomenon of "difficult recruitment" and "labor shortage" has become prominent in some areas and has aroused concern.
Investigating the reasons, Sheng Chaoxun, director of the Strategic Policy Office of the China Academy of Macroeconomics and researcher, believes that “the structural contradiction between talent supply and industrial demand is prominent, the siphonic effect of the gig economy and service industry development appears, the structural mismatch of the job market appears, and the migrant workers Factors such as "significant decline in increments" are the crux of the problem.
How to solve the problem of "labor shortage" in manufacturing enterprises?
The reporter recently interviewed some manufacturing companies, related employment groups, and experts and scholars in Jiangsu and Hunan, trying to find answers from their answers.
"Can't attract" and "Can't keep" the problem is highlighted
The reporter visited and investigated some enterprises in Jiangsu and Hunan and found that my country’s manufacturing human resources have the reality of "supply and demand mismatch".
"It is now common for manufacturing companies to recruit workers." He Fei, who has been engaged in the recruitment of manufacturing workers in Zhongshan for a long time, revealed, "The wages of manufacturing companies are not high, and wages cannot be opened high due to the overall profit level of the industry. The factory’s strict management and tiring work have caused long-term job shortages."
The reporter learned from a foreign-funded pharmaceutical company in Suzhou that the pre-tax monthly salary of the company's operators is only 4,000 to 4,500 yuan. After deducting the five insurances and one housing fund, the employee's monthly salary is only 3,000 yuan. It is difficult to afford the daily expenses and rent of urban life. .
When they apply for a job, they will generally ask the company "whether they often work overtime" and "relevant benefits" and other issues.
In the opinion of local people in Suzhou, “in terms of the current price level, it is more appropriate for the monthly income after tax to be no less than 5,000 yuan”.
The person in charge of a private metal manufacturing company in Suzhou also agreed with the statement, "The acceptable wage level for factory workers is 4,000 to 4,500 yuan after tax."
According to data provided by the Yangtze River Industrial Economic Research Institute of Nanjing University, 46.5% of the 955 manufacturing companies in Jiangsu reported difficulties in recruiting workers.
The relevant person in charge of Jiangsu Jiuzheng Optoelectronics Co., Ltd. told reporters that because the company's clean workshop management is strict, and the salary of front-line employees is low, it is very difficult to recruit workers.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2019, the average annual salary of employees in enterprises above designated size in the manufacturing industry was 70,494 yuan, which was only 44.01% of the average annual salary of employees in the information transmission, software and information technology service industries, and was lower than that of enterprises above designated size. The average salary is 75229 yuan.
In addition to low salary levels, manufacturing talent promotion channels are too narrow, growth incentives are not obvious, and the phenomenon of talent hopping is common. Many manufacturing companies are in the embarrassing situation of "recruiting people but not retaining them".
In addition, changes in employment concepts and increased salary expectations have also reduced the attractiveness of manufacturing to talents.
From the perspective of employees, many workers lack interest and sense of identity in working in manufacturing companies.
“Young people are really unwilling to work in manufacturing companies now. Compared to working in factories, some young people are more willing to join the beauty and hairdressing industry. Most of them lack identity for working in factories.” He Jianwu, chairman of Hunan Dream Fireworks Co., Ltd., told reporters .
“Working in a factory was an extremely glorious thing in the past. Now many people think that working in a factory is'no future'. The group of students who have just graduated are also unwilling to enter the factory.” He Jianwu said.
Even if people are recruited, it is difficult to keep them.
“Young people generally think that working in factories is a last resort, no alternative, and they will choose to leave once they have better employment opportunities. In addition, the employment concept of the post-90s and post-00s is completely different from the previous ones. People want to choose more free and stress-free jobs. Excessive management of enterprises, too much pressure, and even insufficient food and lodging conditions will become their reasons for leaving." He Fei said.
Not only is it difficult to recruit people, but from the perspective of manufacturing companies, "remaining high labor costs" is also a problem.
Survey data from Jiangsu shows that with the overall development of urban and rural areas, people’s living standards have gradually improved, and the attractiveness of migrant workers in the eastern region has declined. At the same time, migrant workers’ expectation of wages has "increased", making "high labor costs" a major employer. The most prominent issue of the company, the approval rate reached 55.8%.
What is the crux of "difficult recruitment" and "labor shortage"
Why is it so hard?
What are the reasons behind these employment problems in manufacturing companies?
During the interview, the reporter also found some clues.
In recent years, the shift of manufacturing employees to service industries has become prominent.
"The life service industry has relatively low skill requirements. Platforms such as express delivery, food delivery, and online car-hailing have low entry barriers, but relatively high wages. Some industries have a high degree of freedom in working hours, which is easy to attract young and middle-aged labor to join. "Liu Bin, a professor at the National Institute of Opening-up of the University of International Business and Economics, said in an interview with reporters.
The reporter interviewed several online ride-hailing drivers in Suzhou. They told the reporter that their monthly income was around 6,000 yuan. Compared with working in a manufacturing company, the income was higher, and they were more willing to work in the service industry.
According to statistics, in 2020, takeaway riders with a college degree or above accounted for more than 25%, while those with a college degree or above accounted for less than 10% of front-line manufacturing workers.
In Liu Bin’s view, with the development of my country’s economy and society and the improvement of material living standards, consumers’ needs and requirements for various services have also further increased. In addition, it is difficult for the service industry to completely replace manpower with technology. Therefore, the service industry has the advantage of absorbing labor. Far beyond the manufacturing sector.
Public data shows that my country's service industry will account for 54.5% of GDP in 2020, and employment demand in the emerging service industry will increase significantly.
The proportion of migrant workers in the secondary industry in my country dropped from 56.8% in 2013 to 48.6% in 2019; the proportion of migrant workers in the tertiary industry increased from 42.6% in 2013 to 51% in 2019.
Xu Ning, a researcher at the Yangtze River Industrial Economics Research Institute of Nanjing University, told reporters: “On the one hand, most of China’s manufacturing industry is at the low end of the industrial chain with low added value, and companies’ hard-binding costs in financing and environmental protection are relatively high. The profit level of the manufacturing industry is generally not high, and the ability to pay workers’ wages is relatively weak compared with that of the service industry and the Internet industry. On the other hand, as China’s manufacturing enterprises continue to optimize and upgrade, especially in terms of technological upgrading and digital transformation, their ability to pay workers’ skills is relatively weak. The level of requirements is getting higher and higher. Therefore, the demand for composite skilled workers who can meet the requirements of the enterprise is in short supply."
Manufacturing companies generally have higher requirements for the technical capabilities of their practitioners, which has formed a "crowding effect" on employees to a certain extent.
The reporter learned that at present, the interview pass rate of skilled workers in manufacturing as skilled talents is generally lower than 10%.
In addition to the "can't grab" the service industry, the poor connection between supply and demand for recruitment is also an important factor causing the "difficulty in recruiting" the manufacturing industry.
The reporter found during research and interviews that some manufacturing companies choose to recruit workers through the Internet. However, many manufacturing companies at the lower end of the value chain have insufficient ability to use the Internet for their employees, and the flow of information is hindered.
At the same time, it is difficult for companies to judge whether applicants fully meet the recruitment requirements through online recruitment.
In the central provinces, where labor-intensive enterprises are more concentrated, the manufacturing industry faces another problem.
Xiao Wei, member of the Standing Committee of the Zhongfang County Party Committee in Huaihua City, Hunan and secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Zhongfang Industrial Park, believes that “in the process of in-depth adjustment of the industrial structure, the structural imbalance in the supply and demand market of human resources in the manufacturing industry is also an important reason for the current difficulties in the employment of manufacturing enterprises.”
"On the one hand, industrial upgrading in the eastern coastal areas relies more on entrepreneurial drive and total factor productivity, and the degree of dependence on traditional factors has been greatly reduced. Labor-intensive enterprises are shifting to the central and western regions based on production cost considerations during the '14th Five-Year Plan' period. General trend. This trend has directly led to a large number of laborers who were originally adapted to employment in the eastern coastal areas. Due to insufficient knowledge and skills, they cannot find suitable jobs in the eastern coastal areas." Xiao Wei analyzed, "On the other hand, coastal enterprises are gradually In the process of relocating to the central and western regions, because enterprises were unable to form stable scale production in new places within a short period of time, the local government's employment services were not precise, and many laborers could not stay at ease. Employment in these two areas Changes have caused the employment of employees to be trapped on both sides."
There is a way to break through
How to effectively solve the "difficulties in employment" of manufacturing enterprises?
Although this problem cannot be completely solved in a short period of time, the reporter has gradually obtained a clearer answer from the conversations of experts, scholars and practitioners through enterprise research and interviews in Jiangsu and Hunan.
To cope with employment problems, companies need to continue to "innovate themselves."
Xu Fengyi, an executive of the human resources department of a Taiwan-funded electronics factory, told reporters that the company has a lot of precision work and high technical content. Many operations need to be completed in a dust-free workshop and cannot be transferred to other places in the form of OEM or outsourcing.
She believes, “As my country’s labor force continues to shrink, it will be more and more difficult to recruit people in the manufacturing industry in the future. Companies need to rationally face real problems, make arrangements early, accelerate the intelligent and digital development of factories, and gradually replace traditional machines with machines. Manpower, reduce dependence on manual labor."
Gao Hong, head of Hunan Zhida Electronics, believes that due to the limited overall profitability of the manufacturing industry, it is impossible to increase the attractiveness of the industry through high wages. It can only force enterprises to accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading and use fewer people to produce higher value-added products. In order to increase the income level of workers in the industry.
"At the same time, companies must also improve their operational management, try to take orders selectively, and take more businesses with more output value and higher profits."
To solve the "difficult recruitment" and "employment shortage", it is also necessary to tap greater potential from workers.
Tang Junfeng, director of the Human Resources Department of Hunan Jushen Electronics, believes that compared with service industries, manufacturing jobs have advantages such as job and income stability.
To attract labor, we must attach importance to the role of social guidance, actively guide young people to understand the employment situation, and establish a correct employment concept.
Sheng Chaoxun suggested vigorously developing technical education and exporting more high-quality talents to the industry.
For example, a new batch of applied technology universities will be established to further increase the enrollment scale of vocational colleges, adjust the subject setting in time according to industrial development, and increase the training of highly skilled talents in the fields of intelligent manufacturing and information technology.
At the same time, build a platform to promote cooperation between vocational colleges and leading enterprises and scientific research institutes, and promote the development of integration of production and education.
"Recruiting people" is only the first step, and "retaining people" is the key. It is particularly important to improve the technical and skilled personnel guarantee policy.
Sheng Chaoxun suggested improving the mechanism for the evaluation of vocational technical talents and stable income growth, encouraging enterprises to establish a subsidy system for outstanding skilled workers, leaning toward first-line skilled workers in the design of income distribution and honor system, and building a team of high-quality industrial workers in the new era.
"It is recommended to implement a differentiated talent introduction and training policy to cultivate a talent echelon of'high-precision + craftsman-type skills' matching the supply and demand. Adhere to the introduction of'excellent, select and select', effectively release fiscal and taxation and other policy dividends, expand income channels, and increase the attraction of enterprises Enthusiasm, while enhancing the sense of talent acquisition." Zhang Shucui, director of the Financial Policy Research Office of the Institute of Industry and Economics, China Electronics Information Industry Development Research Institute, said in an interview with reporters.
Manufacturing enterprises not only need the participation of highly skilled talents, but also the participation of ordinary workers.
He Fei’s long-term experience in the recruitment of manufacturing workers has made He Fei better understand the feelings of ordinary workers. He believes that the working environment of manufacturing enterprises should be further improved, the living conditions, accommodation conditions, and food quality of employees should be improved, and wages and subsidies should be appropriately increased. Meet the necessary and legitimate needs of employees.
The reporter learned from the survey that there are still some manufacturing employment platforms that provide relatively weak protection for the rights and interests of workers.
Industry insiders suggest that relevant departments should strengthen the supervision and management of employment platforms to further enhance the competitive advantage and attractiveness of manufacturing jobs.
Speaking of "difficulties in employment", Bian Jing, a researcher at the China Institute of Macroeconomics, said, "It is also necessary to improve the development quality of the manufacturing industry itself and optimize the environment for industrial development."
"Compared with Japanese corporate products, our fireworks have much lower profit margins, which directly affects employee salaries and benefits and the attractiveness of the industry." He Jianwu called for vigorously promoting the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry, attaching importance to the development and expansion of the real economy, and practical improvement. Manufacturing corporate profits.
In order to more effectively promote the realization of high-quality employment in my country’s manufacturing industry and achieve the effect of precise force, Sheng Chaoxun believes that it is necessary to reshape the strategic orientation of the development of the real economy, and increase the added value of the manufacturing industry and the operating efficiency of real enterprises through innovation-driven and total factor productivity. , Thereby increasing the income of employees in the manufacturing industry and improving the quality of employment in the manufacturing industry.