Money

Students unwilling to step into career of old

By Qin Zhongwei (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-06-18 07:55

People choosing to take up some of the older professions are considered to be "losing face", the director of Qinghuachi, Beijing's largest chiropodist center, told METRO after students from Beijing's top university gave a cold shoulder to its recent campus recruitment.

"To be a chiropodist, is like most professions where people earn money based on their skills, it deserves respect," Wang Lihua, from the center, said on Thursday.

Qinghuachi, Beijing's oldest chiropodist center and bathhouse, with over 100 years' history, went to Renmin University of China, one of China's top universities, during the three-day Dragon Boat Festival to look for some "promising disciples" who wanted to learn the old skills.

"We want to recruit college students as they are innovative and eager to learn," Wang said.

But it appears that the opportunity failed to appeal to students, as the center reportedly did not receive any resumes during the recruiting days.

"Actually, we did receive some resumes this time, from someone who learned medicine, as well as some other majors," Wang explained, without revealing the exact number. It is not the first time the center has recruited college students, she added.

One anonymous Netizen left a comment on Sina.com claiming it was insulting to college students, as he thought it was totally unnecessary to have a chiropodist with a college degree.

A fourth-year student told Beijing Daily: "It would be so humiliating if someone got to know I chose to work as a chiropodist after graduating from one of the country's best universities."

She said she would rather do junior office work, even if the salary was less.

However, Du Wei, a 25-year-old student from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunication, told METRO: "I don't mind it at all. It is a skill. When you master it, it can guarantee you can support yourself,"

"Actually, as our society moves forward, the students with better knowledge will contribute more ideas to the inheritance of the old skills," Wang explained. Nowadays, the center is no longer what it used to be, but it still receives around 1,000 customers a day.

And she hinted their purpose is not only simply training the students to be chiropodists, but hoped, after they learned the whole picture of the industry, these apprentices would shoulder the responsibility to manage the "100-year-old brand" in the future.

Chiropody was listed as an intangible cultural heritage by the Beijing municipal government in 2009.

Chiropody is not the only traditional craft facing a skill shortage. The Beijing Ivory Sculpture Plant is another example.

Young college students nowadays are inclined to pursue dream jobs that look decent or appealing, according to Chen Chang, a Beijing-based career-planning expert.

"But it cannot be denied that each job has its interesting and meaningful parts. If you put your heart and soul into it, you will find it, "she said.

"Not everyone is fit to be a chiropodist, that usually requires someone who is meticulous and likes to serve other people," she told METRO.