The key factor to sustainable development of automobile industry lies on talents. As the basic foundation for industrial and enterprise development, talent strategy is essential. At present, China is experiencing a critical period of auto industry development. In the scenario of global fierce competition, the shortage of talents has emerged as a "bottleneck" impeding rapid progress of the industry.

"With more highly skilled talents, we can promote industrial development and strive for automobile 'creative' big power from 'manufacturing' big power." Mr. Wang Hongjun, the senior expert of the FAW Group Corporation said so on the 4th China Auto Human Resource Forum. It is reported that more than 200 participants from different enterprises, colleges and universities, research institutions gathered at the forum and discussed the auto talent training and education, the cooperation mechanism among government, enterprise, college and university, research institutions.

Big gap between talent supply and demand

For 30 years of reform and opening up to the outside world, China's annual auto output increased to near 9 million from 150,000, together with ever-increased production scale. With the rapid development of auto industry, the talent force is continuously expanding. However, there is still a gap between the development, education of professional automobile human resource and industrial development.

Studies showed the demand for car quantity and work staff in developed countries was 1:0.8. Up to this September, China's car quantity has reached 76.8262 million, but the work staffs in this industry only remained at 38 million, lower than 1:0.5. On the human resource quality aspect, 30 percent of auto-related work staffs in European or American countries have higher education backgrounds, while the figure is below 6 percent in China. In developed countries, skilled technicians account for over 40 percent, but the figure remains at 3.5 percent in China. "McKinsey conducted a one-year study involving 77 companies and 6,000 managers, and then concluded: in the following 20 years, the most pivotal resource to an enterprise is talent; automobile human resource issue has been increased to a strategic position determining the auto industrial development", Mr. Wang Jianping, the Vice President of China National Automotive Industry Imp. & Exp. Corp. believes.

Professional personnel training takes time

Recently, Geely carried out "2009 Campus Recruitment", offering about 600 posts only in Wuhan among their 6,000 vacancies nationwide. In fact, no matter joint-ventures or private enterprises in this industry, all of them are seriously thirsty for talents.

The shortage of professional personnel not only impedes enterprise development, but also degrades the overall quality of auto industry. To solve the professional personnel training problem is no doubt a strategic issue to the industrial healthy development.

On the gap of talent aspect, the structural shortage of auto talents is a more serious problem. The all-round development of China's auto industry requires professional talents on R&D, engineering technology, marketing, purchase, operation, finance and repair, the talents across the whole industrial chain to support, especially inter-disciplinary talents. For example, the R&D personnel should understand market trend and development, besides fundamental technology of mechanical manufacturing; the marketing personnel should understand auto structure, relevant knowledge on the industry, auto maintenance and repair, even some financing knowledge, besides intimate marketing skills, also they should put themselves on the consumer's position to consider everything.

"The professional education and vocational education in our existing colleges and universities have already set up their foundation on training technical personnel, but there are shortages in both teaching staff quantity and practical experience. The teaching material system has already fallen behind in terms of form and content. 'Theory-oriented and practice-neglected' practice cannot meet the market demand. The education system of colleges and universities is not compatible to the enterprise's training system," said by Mr. Xu Xiangyang, the Vice President of Traffic Science and Engineering School, Beihang University.

Explore new training mode

Mr. Zeng Qingyu, the Director of Training Office of the FAW TOYOTA Motor Sales Co., Ltd., said that timely training seemed very important in the scenario of homogenized auto products and ever-changing customer demand, "the sales achievements of FAW TOYOTA are closely related to its persistent talent training strategy." According to his introduction, over 3,000 people in FAW TOYOTA participated in trainings on after-sales service, management, sales and marketing each year. In 2006, FAW TOYOTA cooperated with vocational schools in Guangdong, Hunan and Sichuan to train sales personnel. In 2007, the Ministry of Education and FAW TOYOTA jointly introduced "TOYOTA TEAM21 After-sales Training Program," and promoted in 25 vocational high schools and colleges in 10 provinces.

Meanwhile, Shanghai GM which is also rich in vocational education experience also cooperated with the Ministry of Education last year to develop school-enterprise cooperative program of auto utilization and repair vocational education, mainly including: establish AYEC of Shanghai GM on the basis of existing ASEP; assist in developing AYEC; develop and set up ASEP school, AYEC promotion school in collaboration with the Ministry of Education in 2008-2012; and provide material objects for ASEP and AYEC teachings. Current ASEPs of Shanghai GM are based on purchase orders. "To promote AYEC, Shanghai GM sent senior technicians to give professional lectures to assist in the program upgrade of the schools. This is a win-win activity to increase enterprise and school awareness."

As early as in 2004, six sectors including the Ministry of Education jointly initiated a "training project for tightly-demanded technical talents in manufacturing and modern service industry." "This project shall be reinforced and put into more money by the Government to attract more enterprises to involve," Mr. Xu Xiangyang emphasized, "especially the independent-brand enterprise shall emphasize more on construction of internal talent training system of automotive after-market enterprises."

Source : english.chinabuses.com

Editor : Shelly

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Tags: Auto Talent Development Boost