OnJune22,2018,WuhanUniversityheldits2018graduationceremony.Atotalof15,239studentsgraduatedfromtheuniversitythisyear,including7,279withbachelor’sdegrees,6,826withmaster’sdegrees,and1,134withdoctoraldegrees.VCG“Whatisthemostpreciousresourceofthe21stcentury?Talent!”ThispopularmovielinehearkenstotheongoingbattlefortalentinChina.Sincelastyear,anumberofsecond-andthirdtierChinesecitieshavelaunchedtalentrecruitmentprograms,andcompetitionfortalentisrevvingup.
Thissummer,arecord8.2millionChineseuniversitygraduatesentertheworkforce.ConsideringthelimitationsandincreasinghousingpricesinBeijing,Shanghaiandotherfirst-tiercities,moreandmoreyounggraduatesarelookingtoup-andcomingsecond-orthird-tiercities.
RagingCompetition
In2017,Wuhan,capitalofHubeiProvinceincentralChina,kindledthetrendbyurgingamillioncollegegraduatestostayinthecitytostartbusinesses.Wuhanrolledoutfavorablepoliciesenablingnewcomerstoobtainlocalhukou(permanenthouseholdregistration)withtheirdiplomas.
ChengduisrevampingitstalentpolicytoaddressthehousingproblemofRongpiao,or“Chengdudrifters.”Thecitywillloosenitshukoupoliciestohelpskilledmigrantworkerssettlepermanently,evenbeforesecuringemployment.UniversitygraduatesseekingemploymentinChengducanenjoysevendaysoffreelodgingcourtesyofthecity.
InNanjing,newsthatuniversitygraduatesfromelsewhereseekingjobsinthecitycouldreceiveajobsubsidyof1,000yuansweptacrosssocialnetworksandtriggeredheateddebateinthemedia.
Changshaoffers6,000yuan,10,000yuan,and15,000yuanrentandlivingallowancestobachelor’s,master’sanddoctoraldegreeholdersrespectivelyforthefirsttwoyearsaftertheysettledowninChangsha.Italsooffersasmuchas30,000to60,000yuaninsubsidiestomaster’sanddoctoraldegreeholdersseekingtobuytheirfirsthomeinthecity.
Sofar,morethan20second-andthird-tiercitieshavejoinedthecompetitionfortalent.Thecitiesareofferingsubsidies,freeaccommodationplans,preferentialhukoupoliciesandothermethodstoattracttalent,witheachprovidingmoreenticingconditionsthanthelast.Thecitiesshareadream:findingwaystoattracttalentedpeopletobecomeresidents.
Now,changesinmigratorypatternsaffectingthefuturedevelopmentofsuchcitiesarefrequentlyreported.ChineserecruitmentwebsiteBOSSrecentlyreleaseda2018in-seasontalenttrendreport.Thereportnotedthatincontrasttopastcollegegraduatesheadingtoworkinfirst-tiercitieslikeBeijing,Shanghai,GuangzhouandShenzhen,moreandmorearechoosingcitieslikeHangzhou,Wuhan,Chengdu,ZhengzhouandXi’an.Furthermore,ofyoungprofessionalsleavingfirst-tiercities,35.5percentheadtooneoftheabovefive.
WhyCompeteforTalent?
Theimprovementsinsecond-andthird-tiercitiesandthehighersurvivalthresholdoffirst-tiercitiesaretwoinvisiblehandspushinginthesamedirection.
Second-andthird-tiercitiesdemandurgenteconomictransformationandupgrading,andthemassivedemandofindustrialtransformationandupgradeexacerbatesthescramblefortalent.WiththedeclineofChina’sdemographicdividend,thetalentdividendisnowfrontandcenter.Moderneconomicdevelopmenthasshownthathumanresourcesaretheinexhaustibledrivingforceofeconomicgrowth.Onthesurface,thecitiesarelobbyingfortalent,buttheyarereallyvyingforhumancapitaldividends.Thecreativityinherentinhumanresourcesisfundamentaltofosteringgreaterpossibilityandsupportingthelongtermsustainabledevelopmentofaregionaleconomy.China’seconomicdevelopmenthasalreadyshiftedtoaphaseofhigh-qualitydevelopment.Incontrasttothelarge-scaleinnovativeindustrialpatterninfirst-tiercities,second-andthird-tiercitiesmoredesperatelyneedthetalentdividendtopromoteindustrialupgrade.Atthesametime,reformanddevelopmentofsecond-andthird-tiercitiesalsocreatemoreopportunities.
TakeWuhanasanexample:Itannouncedagoaltoattract100,000researchoralumniprofessionalswithoverseasstudyingorworkingexperience,amillioncollegegraduatesworkingininnovativeindustriesorstartingbusinessesinthecity,andamillionskilledemployees.ThisdriveworksinconjunctionwithWuhan’sgoaltobecomeahigh-levelinnovationcenter.
Formanyyears,China’sfirsttiercitiessuchasBeijing,Shanghai,GuangzhouandShenzhenhaveattractedacontinuousinflowoftalentwiththeirdevelopedeconomicconditions,matureinfrastructure,high-qualitypublicservicesandbroadspacefordevelopment.Numerouseliteschoolsinsuchcitiesalsohelpedattractyoungtalent.Thecontinuousinfluxoftalenthasresultedinrapideconomicandsocialdevelopmentofthefirst-tiercitiesaswellasexponentialpopulationgrowthofthesecities.Bytheendof2017,theresidentpopulationofBeijing,Shanghai,GuangzhouandShenzhenwas21.71million,24.18million,14.5millionand12.53million,respectively.Thedownsidesofsuchmagnitudesuchasrisinghousingpricesandmorefrequenttrafficjamshavebecomebigproblemsinthesecities.Inrecentyears,manyhavevoicedadesiretofleefirst-tiercities.
Tohelpcurebig-cityailments,BeijingandShanghaipioneeredpopulationcontrolplans.Accordingtothem,by2020,theresidentpopulationinBeijingwillbelimitedto23millionforaconsiderableperiodoftime.By2035,thepopulationofShanghaiwillbelimitedtoabout25million.In2017,theresidentpopulationofBeijingreached21.7million,leavinglimitedgrowthspace.Itisbecomingnaturalforgraduatestolooktooptionsinsecond-andthird-tiercities.
TheKey:RetainingPeople
Wuhaniswinningthebattlefortalent.Themunicipalgovernmentproposedtocreatea“cityofyouth,dreams,innovationandvitality.”Manynewpolicieshavebeenlaunchedsuchaspreferentialtreatmentinobtainingahukou,subsidiesforhousing,aidtosecureemploymentandgrantsforentrepreneurs.In2017,atotalof301,000collegegraduateschosetosettleinWuhan.
Toattractmoretalenttothecity,lastyearWuhandecidedtobuildaffordablehousingforuniversitygraduatesandenablethemtobuyorrentapartmentsatadiscountedpriceaslowas20percentofthemarketprice.Today,morethan7,000suchapartmentshavebeenprovidedinWuhan.Afteronlineregistrationandverificationofcredentials,graduatescanchoosearoomandmoveinimmediately.
SomeexpertsremainskepticalaboutWuhan’sheavyspendingontalent.“Now,manysecond-tiercitiesareactivelyrecruitingtalent,”saysYangYiyong,directoroftheInstituteofSocialDevelopmentundertheChineseAcademyofMacroeconomicResearch.“Butevenhugegovernmentsubsidieswillnotkeepthemhereafterwefirstgetthem.Wemustgivethedriversofthesebusinessesenoughroomtodevelop,insteadofjustprovidingahomeforemployees.”
Whilesparingnoefforttoattracttalent,thosecitiesshouldalsowastenopotentialtalent.Someexpertspointoutthatafterrecruitingastar,therealchallengeisoptimallyutilizingthetalent,integratingtheindividual’sgrowthwithurbandevelopment,providingastageonwhichtoperform,ensuringoptimizationoftalentadvantagesandcreatingavirtuouscircleoftalentgrowthandurbandevelopment.