Gold panning in China

In recent months, we have seen an increase in youth unemployment in Europe; unemployment among young people is even more than 50% in Greece and Spain. This is followed by Portugal, with youth unemployment at around 40 percent. More and more young people are seeking refuge in China. 

NRC Next has interviewed several people about their experiences with this. Reason enough for Vera Peneda from Lisbon to live in Beijing. "I'm one of the pioneers." This was done through an exchange program in which he came to China five years ago, without too much work experience. "And then the financial crisis broke out at home. I hear the most horrible stories from my former classmates. Like me, they are in their early thirties, have no work and sit at home all day. Then you'd better be in China. Finding a suitable job is a lot easier here than in Portugal." Since things have really gone downhill in southern European countries, Peneda has seen the number of Portuguese and Spaniards in Beijing grow steadily. "You don't want to know how many emails I get from friends of friends with questions about the job market here." Not incomprehensible according to her, because the salary that Peneda receives in China for her job in the media, she would never receive at home. "In Europe I would earn about 1,000 euros a month, here I get 15,000 to 20,000 yuan." That is converted between 1,800 euros to 2,500 euros."

A different story. Sophie D'Agestino has just arrived in Beijing. "For me, the future is brighter here," she says. The 21-year-old Scot was looking for a job in design. "I heard that Chinese companies have a great need for Western employees, especially in the design world in which I graduated." Within a week, she received her first offer, but that company paid too little. A few weeks later, D'Agestino found a full-time job with a Chinese company.

Despite the fact that the Netherlands is one of the EU countries with the lowest youth unemployment, emigration from the Netherlands to China is still growing strongly. By 52 percent in two years. In many cases, these are Chinese who return to their country of origin, but there are also young gold miners among them, such as Mark Smit. "I want a job in marketing, but they are not up for grabs in the Netherlands." The 27-year-old from Losser once ended up in Beijing for his studies. He decided not to return to the Netherlands. "A few years ago, young professionals only took the plunge to China if there was a large company behind them. That's different now. I'm not the only one knocking on the door of Chinese companies here on my own."

Despite the fact that a work visa is not easily arranged, this does not appear to be an obstacle for a smart young person. "You can always arrange a temporary work visa through the grapevine, as long as you pay enough." Yet there is also a downside to seeking a better future in China. A good example of this is the Spaniard Miguel Blanes. He came to China a year ago and soon got a job as an architect. "Yes, they love European architects." According to him, the cooperation with his Chinese employer went smoothly at first. "Until, after a month and a half, I was called to the boss. The work went well, my boss said. I performed properly. Still, the company wanted to break my one-year contract. I was supposed to do the same job, but instead of 25,000 yuan (3,000 euros), I would immediately receive only 12,000 yuan (1,500 euros) per month." Blanes decided to leave. "It's a tough world. I'm hearing from more foreign workers in China that signing a contract is "like signing wet paper." Blanes now lives temporarily in Spain, unemployed and is again making plans to look for work abroad. The destination this time is Mexico.

Source: NRC Next