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China's Software Industry Needs Numerous Blue-collar Workers
Compared with its PC industry that is growing rapidly into world third market, China's software industry has been lagging far behind. Its output last year turned out at only 23.8bn yuan, less than that of a single leading company Legend, and among global software export markets valued around US$200bn, China takes no more than 1.5 percent, much lower than that of India.
Since beginning of this year preferential policies have been issued to set up many software bases across the nation along with support from capital market, leading some people to think that the spring of China's software industry has finally come.
But a question here is, the industry is still run by individuals following a workshop mode on a small scale, which makes it quite impossible to put out competitive products.
Statistics tell in India there are over hundred software companies with a staff of more than thousand people, or even over ten thousand. While in China only 3 percent companies claim a staff over hundred people and 55 percent have a staff under 50.
One reason is rampant piracy blocks enough interest returns for software companies. What is more important, unable to get plenty of "blue-collar" workers at low costs Chinese companies have to use hi-degree professionals for simple program writing, which results in irrationally high cost of human resources and restricts the company scale therefore weakens their international competitiveness in price.
As a solution China must lunch training programs for industry workers just like India, Ireland and Israel do to create a "blue-collar" class to meet the industry's demand on top of over 35,000 "white-collar" professionals trained every year.
Beida Jade Bird turned out the first domestic enterprise that detected and seized the opportunity. By cooperating with an Indian computer education company named APTECH it has introduced worker training programs and promoted nationwide under APTECH's special permission.
Flooding of numerous "blue-collar" workers into software industry could help cut developing costs and standardize company management into a factory-like style. This ensures a stable and sustainable development for these companies since they no longer rely heavily on any individual program writers. Without plenty of workers at grassroots level and when relying only on a handful people's wits companies will never be able to develop large-scale software.
Some worry that introduction of "blue-collar" workers would lower the general technological level of China's software industry. In fact, only a small batch of people could never put out really competitive products no matter how talented they are.
Experts say Chinese software companies are quite weak in international competition therefore not suitable for high-risk, high-return and heavily funded projects. In the current "transitional period" most software are still labor-intensive products and¡°blue-collar" workers would remain as mainstay for the industry during a rather long coming period.
By PD Online staff member Li Heng
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