5G tech experts eagerly sought after in job market

Companies in the communications field are scrambling for talent with 5G-related knowledge to help them get a foothold in the booming 5G industry, as qualified people remain in short supply due to the rather higher requirements for the positions.

Data cited from Zhaopin, an online recruitment platform headquartered in Beijing, shows that 5G-related positions offered saw an upsurge of over 800 percent year-on-year on its platform since January.

To lure talent, companies are offering more attractive benefits. For example, Zhaopin said that the salaries companies are offering to job seekers rose by 44.3 percent year-on-year, topping out at about 15,600 yuan ($2,300) per month from about 10,800 yuan last year. The number of job seekers in the area, as a result, increased by 151 percent since January compared with the same period last year.

The industry also helps invigorate communications science, making it the main pool for future 5G engineers. A recent report by Boss Zhipin, another online recruitment platform in Beijing, said that the talent required in the 5G industry share highly professional backgrounds in communications engineering and computing.

The platform said that companies in communications and network devices are the ones most eager for 5G talent, making up about 43 percent of all, followed by companies in the field of computer science at 17 percent.

Among the positions available in the 5G industry, five posts for engineers in communications research and development, telecommunications networks, core networks, optical communications and optical transmission are in greatest demand, the platform said.

Li Qiang, executive vice-president with Zhaopin, said that the booming 5G industry requires different talent during its development, and comprehensive capabilities are emphasized when recruiting these people.

"As to their professional competence, job seekers are required to have knowledge in network planning, big data and artificial intelligence," he said. "What's more, capabilities in management and communication are also essential."

However, Li said that qualified talent for 5G-related posts remains scarce because of the imbalance between companies' higher requirements and yet-to-be qualified job seekers.

According to Zhaopin, only 57 percent of its job seekers have ever worked for 5G-related industries.

"It's a two-way selection. What the job seekers consider is not limited to higher salary but the balance of their promotion and personal lives," Li said.

A report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in early June shows that the industry will create over 3 million jobs by 2025, generating total revenue of about 35 trillion yuan during the period from 2020 to 2025.