Life experience degree scams

BEIJING, Feb. 6 Kyodo

Recruiters and thousands of low-skilled job seekers turned out for an annual employment fair in the capital Friday, but few matches were made as the skills on hand generally fell far short of those sought.

At the end of a three-day job fair in Beijing's Yuetan Park, where thousands of migrant workers as well as unemployed locals come every year for jobs at restaurants, hotels, remodeling companies and other blue-collar businesses after the Lunar New Year holiday, recruiters said relatively few people had the basic education, technical skills and personalities for their jobs.

About 3 million migrant workers live in Beijing, mainly because they cannot find work in their hometowns.

China's job market has tightened since 1978 with the downsizing of state-owned companies, and employers trying to meet international quality standards have become more selective.

''It's worse this year, as our requirements are higher and higher,'' said Peng Lin, manager of a central Beijing restaurant, which drew a line for six service positions of 800 yuan (about $96) per month. ''Customers' demands are higher, so ours are, too.''

Zhao Chunli, a recruiter for a Beijing television programming company, stood alone behind her desk, one of 83 at the fair, because she had talked most people out of applying for the five reporting jobs for lack of a high school education.

''I don't know what it is this year,'' she said. ''People's levels are on the low side.''

So jobs went unfilled at the fair. A Beijing high-tech manufacturer, for example, had taken about 20 applications for five jobs but could not fill two. About 1 million jobs are open to migrant workers this year in Beijing, according to the Beijing Daily.

An air of gloom surrounded many applicants. ''I have a low academic level, little life experience, and what suits me is hard to find,'' said Hu Ping, 30, a Sichuan Province native with a middle school-level vocational education. She said her Sichuan accent also set her back with employers.

''I have no degree, I don't type and I don't use the computer,'' said Chen Xuelan, 38, a Beijing woman out of work for five years, since her state-owned employer shut down. ''In this society you need to be able to do everything.''

Chen was scheduled for an interview for a job cleaning rooms at a hotel.

Just outside the paid admission area of the job fair, another 500 people looked for jobs by tailing anyone who looked like a potential employer. Most hung ballpoint pen-scribbled signs around their necks with words such as ''cook'' and ''driver'' to identify their trades. Deals done outside official recruitment functions are subject to scams, according to Beijing media.

Desperation showed in the crowd outside. Qiao Shenghua, a 25-year-old farmer from the harsh terrain of northern Shanxi Province, was looking for phone receptionist work in Beijing, where he came hearing he could earn 40 yuan instead of the usual 20 yuan. He said his middle-school education and farming background had gotten him nowhere.

Tong Liqiang, 25-year-old band singer from Heilongjiang Province temporarily living in a railway station, stood near the fair entrance hoping he could find singing work, as he had been told he could in Beijing. He had seen no signs of jobs.