Time to take a proactive approach in the global hunt for rare skills

Wang, who has participated in many talent research programs for the Chinese government, says that during the past few years, central and provincial governments have realized the importance of talent building and have taken several steps to attract experts through preferential policies.
The Thousand Talents Program launched in 2008 has attracted more than 3,300 high-quality professionals from abroad to China's key areas, while the Recruitment Program of Foreign Experts launched in August 2011 has attracted more than 100, according to the Center for China and Globalization. Tens of thousands of Chinese students studying overseas have also been attracted back.
However, the number of top talented people that China has is still far from enough.
"Although China is a big auto giant, it has very few experts in engine development," says Wang. "This is also the case with several other industries."
Wang says that although China has a great base of people, with 7 million fresh college graduates every year, their overall capabilities are still not top-notch. Of the 1.6 million science and engineering graduates that pass out every year in China, only 10 percent match up to the requirements of international companies, says a report published by global consulting firm McKinsey.
The real problem in China is the high erosion rate of top talent, experts say. It is the highest in the world, with 87 percent of those in the science and engineering field who go overseas to study failing to return.


Source: China Daily
Time: 2013-07-15