Professionals keen to explore contracting

There is a strong interest among Chinese job seekers to try becoming contractors, with over one third indicating a willingness to consider such a position after working for ten years or more in full-time positions, a recent report from recruitment expert Michael Page China showed.

The study, covering more than 2,600 professionals, indicated that as high as 96 percent said they would like a contracting job at some point in the future, with the majority (35 percent) saying they will be ready for such a choice after having ten years or more of full-time work experience.

Among the top reasons for such decisions, 29 percent of respondents noted that when they are no longer faced with financial pressures around making a living, they will consider going into contracting.

This was followed by employees indicating their interest in a contract role when at the crossroads of a career transition (22 percent) or when they were held back by a "glass ceiling" in their career development (21 percent).

Michael Page said that the survey was done amid China’s ongoing economic shifts towards a consumer-led economy, coupled with increases in traditional manufacturing costs.

As a result, there is now growing demand for innovative technologies and skilled talent is highly sought after in order to implement projects in industries such as robotics, artificial intelligence and the Internet, observes Peter Smith, managing director of Michael Page China.

Currently, full-time work still dominants China’s employment market, as 85 percent of respondents are working in long-term full time positions, while 68 percent said they have no contracting experience, according to the report.

Unlike conventional methods of employment, contracting will give companies a more flexible approach to managing their headcount budgets as well as the opportunity to hire someone with new skills when the market or business needs change, Smith added.

Through the survey, professionals, however, also voiced their apprehensions while more than three quarters of those surveyed stated their awareness of increased salary opportunities in contracting positions.

The top 21 percent were concerned about irregular income, while 13 percent saw this as an “unstable career path”.

The UK-headquartered recruitment firm explains that instead of very junior positions, companies are actually hiring contractors at mid to senior level, and sometimes even executive level, whose skills are in demand.

As such, candidates can often be paid above market rate and enjoy all the benefits, including annual leave, health care and bonuses which are typically given to permanent employees, Michael Page China said.