Manufacturing industry has the most urgent need for professionals in Guangdong

Employees work on an automobile assembly line in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Feb 20. (ZHANG DI / CHINA DAILY)

The most urgent need for professionals in the mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area is in the manufacturing industry, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total demand, according to a Guangdong province government survey.

The area needs about 330,000 professionals, with the top three positions in demand being product developers, sales channel managers and software engineers.

Surveyed enterprises said that in the next three to five years, half of their needs will be for skilled technicians, followed by professional and technical professionals, accounting for 33 percent

Guangdong’s Human Resources and Social Security Department published the findings on Tuesday in an official list of personnel who are urgently needed and in short supply.

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Surveyed enterprises said that in the next three to five years, half of their needs will be for skilled technicians, followed by professional and technical professionals, accounting for 33 percent.

Enterprises’ requirements regarding academic qualifications are increasing. The number of jobs that demand professionals with undergraduate degrees has surged from 14.55 to 20.90 percent, while the number of jobs requiring a postgraduate degree has increased from 2.08 to 3.33 percent.

In Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai, which focus on high-tech and advanced manufacturing industries, the shortage of programmers and software engineers is the most acute.

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Meanwhile, in production powerhouses such as Foshan, Huizhou and Dongguan, the most sought-after professionals are product developers, assembly engineers, and workshop directors.

The data are based on a survey of about 17,000 high-tech enterprises in the nine mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area, covering seven strategic emerging industries and other 26 key industries.

grace@chinadailyhk.com