China's young generation are losing interest in entering the manufacturing industry, a trend further hampering prospects for economic growth as a labor force shortage looms large.

"In the past two years, fewer and fewer new graduates have chosen to work in factories, and the people we recruit now are mostly rural migrant workers over 35 years old," said Zhang Shuyu, human resources director of an auto gears company based in Southwest China's Chongqing.

Vocational shift

Zhang used to have a large pool of candidates to choose from, but the trend now has reversed, despite more favorable benefits packages.

During a Chongqing job fair in early January, an aluminum processing plant offering workers monthly salaries starting from 2,800 yuan ($450) along with free food and accommodations received applications from only 20 high school graduates.

On the other hand, a real-estate corporation hiring property management personnel with a salary of 2,500 yuan reaped hundreds of applications, many from college graduates.

For many Chinese youth born after 1980, manufacturing represents an arduous yet underpaid career, so they are increasingly interested in cushy jobs in the service sector, according to Song Fei, a division head of the Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Chongqing.

Song attributed the change to low payment and noted that China's manufacturing is still at a labor-intensive stage.

Compared with their predecessors, Chinese in their 20s and 30s place more value in the working atmosphere and self-development opportunities, something often ignored by factory managers, said the HR chief.

Shrinking work force

At a press conference a week ago, China's top statistics official, Ma Jiantang, revealed that the country's working-age population dropped in 2012, for the first time in decades.

Because of the shortage of young labor, manufacturing companies are mulling replacing manual labor with automation.

OEM giant Foxconn announced last November that they would invest heavily in producing 1 million robots within three years.

About 6.8 million Chinese graduated from university in 2012 and the education authority continued to warn universities to shut down majors failing to achieve employment rates of 60 percent among graduates.

On the other hand, the employment rate for graduates from vocational schools topped 96.7 percent in 2011.

Experts and scholars believe China's industry is in a key period of transformation and upgrading, and there is an urgent need to reverse the trend of youth turning away from manufacturing.

Li Yong, research fellow at the Chongqing Municipal Academy of Social Sciences, said that only by improving working conditions and salary can manufacturing attract youngsters.

Li also suggested the government step up efforts in the new round of income distribution reform to increase workers' welfare and change public opinions in recognizing the value of labor.

Song Fei noted that China lags behind in training skilled workers to upgrade its industry.

Enterprises should be guided to sign contracts with vocational schools to cooperate over cultivating skilled and innovative workers, said Song.

Xinhua