TEXT E The ink is barely dry on
the deal. But the agreement on China joining the World Trade Organisation is
already making an impact on business in China. Analysts expect the deal to
trigger a new wave of foreign investment. This will especially affect sunrise
industries like telecoms and computing. The downside of this is
that Chinese companies will face harder competition. Many will rise to the
challenge. But some will be forced to close. And others will lay off surplus
staff. For individual workers the WTO deal highlights the
importance of upgrading skills and qualifications. New investors in China will
need highly qualified people. So will the Chinese companies who compete with
them. Human resource professionals have already noticed a trend
towards aggressive recruitment by Chinese companies. But this only applies to
people with the skills to help them become world-beater. And that is also the
attitude of growing numbers of joint ventures and foreign-owned
companies. We are seeing the establishment of a "quality line".
People whose skills are below this level will find it increasingly hard to get
rewarding jobs. People above it will find their opportunities
increased. A good example of this process at work can be found
in the e-commerce sector. Many companies are rushing to get online. And they all
need software engineers. But the demand for quality is beginning to affect all
aspects of working life. Recruitment professionals have also noticed an
increasing demand for secretaries and administrators. There are lots of
people around with the traditional skills for these posts. But there are fewer
with the IT skills needed for work in a modern, computerized office
environment." The emergence of Chinese Internet based companies
has also seen a sharp rise in demand for people with a wide range of skills.
Naturally, these new companies need technical and support staff. But
they also want people who can write and design high quality content. And staff
with the ability to sell a new and exciting proposition into the market are also
required. The key to Internet companies is speed. They grow according to the
principle of "first mover advantage". So for people who want to work in this
sector, the time to move is now. Increased competition is also
reflected in a steady demand for sales people, especially sales managers. With
companies trying to sharpen up their public image, there is also an increasingly
strong flow of vacancies in advertising and public relations. For all these jobs
companies are looking for experienced people with a good command of
English. These developments are evidence of a profound change in
the Chinese job market. The WTO deal marks a change in emphasis. Companies are
less interested in producing things and more interested in getting the best out
of people. And to take advantage of this, people looking for jobs will have to
get the best out of themselves. The world of work is becoming a more exciting
place, but also less secure. It can be inferred from the passage that______.
A.China’s entry into the WTO will not benefit telecoms particularly B.joint ventures will not embrace aggressive recruitment C.companies will concentrate on the quality of products D.people must better their skills to survive fierce competition