Expert: the employment of foreign trade enterprises in the manufacturing industry is in the transition period

The opinions of the general office of the State Council on promoting the stability and quality improvement of Foreign Trade issued on May 26 this year mentioned that while doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control, the provinces of epidemic affected areas (county-level administrative regions where medium and high-risk areas are located) should determine the directory of key foreign trade enterprises and the directory of relevant logistics enterprises and personnel to ensure production, logistics and employment. This newspaper continues to pay attention to the employment of foreign trade enterprises, and continues to exchange and discuss this topic with relevant experts and scholars in the industry. Wang Ming, associate researcher of Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Dawan District Human Resources Development Research Center, School of economics and management, South China Normal University, is optimistic that there will be a trend of "new industrial workers + new factory management" in manufacturing employment in the future.
In Wang Ming's opinion, the surge in foreign trade orders in manufacturing industry under the epidemic situation has led to a surge in labor demand, which is in contradiction with the supply and demand of manufacturing workers who have difficulty returning to work and new workers who are difficult to recruit under the current epidemic prevention and control. This is the short-term reason for the difficulty in employment of foreign trade enterprises in manufacturing industry. As for the long-term reasons, Wang Ming believes that, on the one hand, the continuous industrial upgrading and high-quality development of the manufacturing industry requires a large number of medium and high skilled industrial workers, and the shortage of skilled talents is a long-standing structural shortage of employment in the manufacturing industry; On the other hand, China's population structure has changed, and the overall supply of labor has decreased year by year. However, the younger generation is reluctant to work in the front line of the manufacturing industry. It is common that it is difficult to recruit and retain front-line workers, and there is a "lack of youth and youth" between the new and the old.
How to solve the employment problem of manufacturing foreign trade enterprises? "The short-term strategy is that local governments need to explore how to ensure the orderly cross-border flow of workers under the epidemic prevention and control, such as opening special channels for enterprise recruitment with the assistance of the government, and implementing special management for cross-border migrant workers." Wang Ming analyzed that the long-term countermeasures are: first, vigorously develop vocational education, train industrial workers and support the high-quality development of the manufacturing industry; Second, turn crisis into opportunity, use mechanization, automation, digitalization and other means to relieve the pressure on employment, and realize the technological transformation and upgrading of enterprises. Governments at all levels need to provide policy guidance and incentives for technological upgrading of key industries; Third, we should attach importance to the high-quality development of labor relations in the manufacturing industry, improve working conditions and ensure decent work for workers.
Wang Ming believes that at present, the employment problem of foreign trade enterprises, especially manufacturing foreign trade enterprises, will still exist. The domestic epidemic situation is also difficult to alleviate immediately. Local governments need to explore effective governance models to organize and coordinate the normal flow of labor. Enterprises should actively respond and carry out "forced" technological transformation to alleviate the difficulty of employment.
"With the high-quality development of China's manufacturing industry and its deep participation in the international division of labor, the employment of manufacturing industry will usher in the employment trend of 'new industrial workers + new factory management'. On the one hand, a large number of new industrial workers will enter the manufacturing industry. At the same time, enterprises' employment will improve quality and efficiency, and gradually realize information, digital and even intelligent management. Labor relations will be greatly improved, and labor conditions will be improved." Wang Ming said.