China fascinates German Students

What is by now practically taken for granted by German companies, is being recognized by universities and students as well: anyone who wants to be successful must have a presence in China.

While in the year 2003 only 1,280 German students headed off to the Middle Kingdom, this number climbed to a good 6,300 in the year 2012. With an increase of 400% over 9 years, China catapulted itself to 7^th place on the list of most beloved countries to study in. Only Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK, the USA and France are more popular.

German universities play a decisive role in this growth. The amount of cooperation with Chinese universities has risen steadily in recent years. Often the first step was Chinese students coming to Germany, and then as a second step programs for German students in China were expanded. With this the universities are often following the interests of industry, which requires talent with the appropriate skills for growth in China.

But the hope of students for employment with a connection to China isn’t always realized: “We often hear complaints that especially students of sinology have great difficulties finding suitable employment after graduation. But students with other majors also have problems if they don’t have good Mandarin language skills,” says Dirk Mussenbrock, founder of the job portal SinoJobs, which has specialized in Chinese and European professionals and managers with a China-EU focus.

European companies in China are becoming more and more Chinese, and are therefore searching mainly for Chinese talent for their locations in China. With 25,000 Chinese students in Germany, a large pool already offers itself here to those companies. “The trend for companies is going distinctly towards local Chinese employees. Foreign employees are being increasingly employed with local contracts. Expat contracts are more of an exception, especially with younger candidates,” Dirk Mussenbrock knows.

However new perspectives are developing directly in Germany for candidates with China expertise: more and more Chinese companies are establishing or acquiring companies in Germany, and require personnel that know that you don’t only eat “sweet and sour duck” in China.

Mussenbrock & Wang GmbH Company Profile:
Mussenbrock & Wang is a leading supplier of recruitment solutions in the European-Chinese context based in Germany and China. The job portal SinoJobs as well as the career and recruiting fair SinoJobs Career Days offer specialized solutions to European and Chinese companies for the recruitment of Chinese and European professionals and managers in Greater China and the EU.

The annually held Sino HR Conference – German-Chinese Human Resources Conference – has become firmly established as the leading event on the topic of German-Chinese HR management. This conference, which takes place in Frankfurt am Main, attracts more than 120 participants each year.