China Opens Up Job Market for Expat Masters Students, But What About the Undergrads?

Kyle Mullin | Jan 21, 2017 5:00 pm | 5 comments | 5515 reads

It just got easier for foreign grad students to land a job in China.

Several Chinese ministries recently announced the loosening of work permit restrictions for foreign graduates of masters degree programs both in China and abroad.

In recent years China's work permitting system has slowly but surely made it increasingly difficult for young foreigners to get proper working papers. One of the major hurdles has been proof of two years of relevant working experience outside of China.

Athough loopholes, workarounds, and back door channels have always been available, the enforcement of the two-year work rule has cut off a lot of fresh grads from seeking legal employment here, even those graduating from Chinese universities.

According to the Asia Times, the new rule now allows expatriate postgraduate students to bypass the two years of work experience.

To be eligible, the students have to have maintained a B average or greater from a domestic or overseas graduate school, and have to have received their diploma within the last 12 months.

The changes are designed to draw in more foreign talent, according to the ministries of Foreign Affairs, Education, Human Resources, and Social Security, who announced the loosening of the restrictions on January 12.

Jeff Frey, co-founder and head of marketing for InternsInBeijing, says its a major improvement not only for recent masters grads themselves, but also the Chinese economy.

"Until now graduates had to return to their home countries after graduation and couldn’t use their acquired knowledge to either work in China or start their own company here," he says. "This facilitates the internationalization of Chinese companies. It will be easier to recruit excellent students from abroad and have a smoother entrance to foreign markets."

However, the first thing that comes to our mind is: what about BA students, especially those studying in China?

While it's understandable that China wants to be sure boatloads of talentless, inexperienced foreigners don't rock up on their shores, there's certainly a lot that foreigners could contribute that doesn't necessarily require a graduate degree: English-related jobs like filling the unending demand for English teachers, tutors, writers, and editors come to mind, and are all skills that can be delivered by BA holders.

We think it would do wonders to make this new rule applicable to all foreign undergraduate students in China's universities. The vast majority of these students are making a strong commitment to the Chinese language and culture by pursuing a degree here; increasing the chances of such students being legally employed after graduation would only increase the chances of attracting top students. If China wants to attract the best and the brightest to attend its universities, a leg up in helping recent grads land gainful employment in China is a major enticement.

The full list of eligibility requirements under the new policy is as follows:

  • Graduate degree or higher from a domestic or "well-known" overseas university, graduation within one year
  • At least 18 years old and in good health
  • No criminal record
  • Average grade of at least 80 on a 100-point scale and no disciplinary record
  • Degree in field related to proposed work in China
  • A confirmed job offer from a company in China
  • A salary offer that is not less than standard local wages for the position
  • A valid passport

More stories by this author here.
Email: kylemullin@truerun.com
Twitter: @MulKyle
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Photo: SJTU

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I am here's picture I am here Submitted by Guest on Sun, 01/22/2017 - 09:22

The content of this article is not 100% accurate and I would like to fill in the missing details for readers of this website. The Beijinger received this information from another media outlet, a newspaper, but it doesn't relfect the actual policies completely. The title of the article it will attract attention.

Some cities have started to implement some aspects of the new work permit policy, on a pilot version, but it does go nationwide by April 4, 2017. We should hear more about some of the missing information and unexplained information by then.

We should remember that the current information about the policy is at the national level. Some of the missing information is purposely left with ambiguous to give room for local governments to implement it in the way they see fit. Much as now, we may see some differences between cities and provinces.

It depends on the category of status and the specific position that one is applying for if graduates lacking the work experience qualify. As of now, it is unclear if the position has to match or how closely it has to match to the area of study. Here are the details of the type of graduate that can avoid their work experience:

1. Hold a Ph.D from a top 200 university outside China. There's a website link to the list. (for category a)

2. Hold a masters degree or above from a top 100 university outside of China. There's a website link for a list. (for category b)

3. Hold a masters degree from a high level Chinese university with excellent student status (for category b)

Furthermore, some types of employees in China are subject to different criteria and then these criteria will apply, such as for teachers -

If the applicant holds a degree in education, language, teaching, etc or if the applicant has a bachelor’s degree in another field and a teaching license or a TEFL certificate than the two years of experience can be waived.

The reason that the category system likely does not allow for bachelors degree holders to avoid their work experience qualification is because that would qualify too many non-Chinese to work in China too easily. We have to remember that ultimately China cares about the employment of their people, as in the case of every country.

It's very important that The Beijinger provides complete and accurate information. I would welcome editors and representators from this website and other media outlets to get in touch with specific questions regarding the new policies.

admin's picture admin Submitted by Guest on Sun, 01/22/2017 - 08:01

bjreddragon wrote:

I beg to differ, but having a bachelor degree doesn't guarantee that someone can fill  

Quote:
the unending demand for English teachers, tutors, writers, and editors
 You are insulting everyone that currently fills these positions by implying that it only takes an undergrad degree to do these jobs. I would argue that after two years in the workforce, these people are still learning their jobs.

Yeah its true that not all people coming out of an undergraduate program are qualified people. But how about someone who majored in journalism, education, creative writing, technical writing, English as an undergrad?  

How about someone who studied electrical engineering or architecture or finance or computer programming as an undergrad? 

While an advanced degree can't hurt in many of these cases, a graduate degree simply isn't necessary in many cases for someone to be qualified for a job. 

I'm not saying every laowai that rocks up with a BA should be made the boss, but I'm saying that for instance some kid who comes over here to study engineering at BeiDa should be given a chance at cracking the local job market.

 

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bjreddragon's picture bjreddragon Submitted by Guest on Sat, 01/21/2017 - 20:01

I beg to differ, but having a bachelor degree doesn't guarantee that someone can fill

Quote:
the unending demand for English teachers, tutors, writers, and editors
You are insulting everyone that currently fills these positions by implying that it only takes an undergrad degree to do these jobs. I would argue that after two years in the workforce, these people are still learning their jobs.

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