The ceramics industry is a "technology-oriented + experience-oriented" industry that places significant emphasis on the experience of its professionals. As a result, the resumes of industry practitioners are more valuable compared to other industries. Therefore, despite the current market bottleneck faced by the ceramics and sanitary ware industry, experienced professionals within the industry will remain highly sought after for quite some time in the future. Their salaries and benefits will also be higher than those in other general industries.
In recent years, although there has been some progress in the automation of equipment in the ceramics and sanitary ware industry, the overall level remains relatively backward. This undoubtedly exacerbates the internal contradictions of industry development, making it necessary for the entire industry to rely more on brand building to alleviate the pressure of rising costs in the future.
Indeed, 2012 was a major test not only for the market but also for labor employment for ceramics and sanitary ware enterprises. The labor crisis in the ceramics industry mainly comes from two aspects: first, in traditional production areas such as Foshan, human resources are gradually concentrating in leading enterprises and large companies, making it even harder for small and micro-enterprises to hire employees; secondly, after several years of development, emerging ceramic production areas in inland regions have gradually started competing with traditional production areas for talent. A large number of technical workers from traditional production areas have flowed into emerging inland production areas. Moreover, the shortage of ordinary workers remains a long-standing problem. Not just in the ceramics industry, but also in other industries in the eastern developed regions, the same issue exists. Just think about ten or five to six years ago, how spectacular the post-Spring Festival migration of workers from Jiangxi, Hunan, Sichuan, Guangxi, and Guizhou provinces was. But now, most of the job seekers after the holiday are from within the province. Those traveling long distances to the Pearl River Delta are mostly from the east and west wings and the northern mountainous areas of Guangdong.
It should be noted that with the decline of the European ceramics industry, leading enterprises in the industry can quickly attempt to recruit talents from countries like Italy and Spain. For example, after the inkjet product market opened up, China first needed a large number of high-end design talents, and these talents are best introduced from Europe or indirectly utilized through joint ventures with Italian and Spanish companies.
Two key observations for the new year in the ceramics industry: one is to look at the start of operations, and the other is to look at recruitment. In Foshan, only a small number of ceramic and sanitary ware enterprises such as Jiajun, Jin Global, Xinmingzhu, Xinzhaoyuan, Jin Siyuema, ICC, and Weiyi rushed to start operations between the eighth and tenth days of the New Year, firing the "first shot." On February 1 (the tenth day), the Foshan Zhitong Talent Market and Nanhai Leading Talent Market held the first live recruitment fair after the Spring Festival, with dozens of ceramic enterprises participating. From the situation at the recruitment fair, it is clear that the problem of recruiting workers in the ceramics industry remains very serious.
Comparing media reports provides an even clearer picture of the issues. According to a report by the Guangzhou Daily, Foshan's Ideal Sanitary Ware prominently displayed the slogan "Those who want to buy a house in Foshan, please come over" at their recruitment booth on the tenth day. Recruitment personnel introduced the company’s policy on-site: employees who have worked for four years can apply for interest-free loans ranging from 120,000 to 150,000 yuan from the company. If they work for 15 years, the loan does not need to be repaid. As for base salaries, most companies offer more than 2,500 yuan. According to reports by Huaxia Ceramics Network, the 2012 Spring Festival recruitment fair held at the Zhengda Ceramics factory in Pingxiang, Jiangxi, was bustling with nearly 500 job seekers. Zhengda Ceramics is invested by the owner of Zhengda Glaze, an upstream enterprise in the ceramics industry located in Foshan. Most of the technical, marketing, and management staff come from Foshan, and the corporate philosophy is basically consistent with Foshan. Employees enjoy good working and living environments, with newly built apartment-style dormitories equipped with air conditioning, water heaters, closed-circuit television, internet, libraries, billiard rooms, and more. Such enterprises can be considered strong competitors in human resources for local Foshan ceramics enterprises.
In recent years, ceramic enterprises in Fujian's Jinjiang and Minqing, Sichuan's Jiange, and Jiangxi's Pan Gaogang region have accelerated their upgrade steps, following closely behind the ceramic manufacturing center of Foshan. They have successively launched antique tile production lines and introduced full-polished glaze, inkjet, and even microcrystalline products, resulting in a talent structure similar to that of the Foshan region. In the future, this will inevitably trigger a new round of competition for mid-to-high-end talents within the industry. Therefore, for the Foshan region, the survival environment for enterprises with low-to-mid-level positioning will become increasingly harsh in terms of market conditions, policy conditions, and talent conditions. Only larger-scale enterprises with higher positioning or personalized survival strategies will have a way out.