Recruiting staff of a Chinese enterprise based in Zambia at the expo (DERRICK SILIMINA)
By Derrick Silimina
Armed with their resumes, over 200 job-seekers, who were mostly young graduates of the Confucius Institute at the University of Zambia (UNZA) and other institutions of higher learning in the country, prowled the lush grounds of the university’s Great East Road campus of the university, looking for signs of job openings.
While the Confucius Institute at the UNZA located on the outskirts of Lusaka City may not seem as the obvious place to start a job hunt, it has become a pilgrimage site for most university graduates to pursue employment opportunities via its renowned annual job expo.
“I am grateful to the authorities who made it possible to host this annual event because this platform enables many unemployed graduates like myself to get job offers with ease from many Chinese corporate entities that have invested in our country,” said Thandiwe Zulu, one of the young graduates of the Confucius Institute.
A ray of hope
As Africa’s population grows, joblessness on the continent is bringing more pain to the young people, as they have trouble finding decent job opportunities. According to the policy-oriented Mo Ibrahim Foundation, more than 15 million Africans aged 15-24 are unemployed, representing 13.5 percent of that age group.
There is, however, a ray of hope for the unemployed youth in Zambia, with annual job fairs offering a way for the young people to escape unemployment.
The Confucius Institute at the UNZA is one such example. The institute recently held its fourth Jobs and Career Exposition with the aim to bring together companies, especially Chinese enterprises based in the Southern African country, to showcase their strengths and find potential employees.
With the initiative, the institute aims to maintain the synergy between educational institutions and the industry, without any disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the exposition also facilitates institutions of higher learning to partner with local Chinese firms to provide highly skilled people needed to enhance productivity and growth in the companies.
“We have taken a route to help engage the Chinese enterprises, both public and private, operating in Zambia to link them with the society through our annual job fair, especially with young people who are looking for jobs,” Sande Ngalande, Acting Director of the institute’s Confucius Institute at the UNZA told ChinAfrica.
Ngalande, who is also executive director of the Belt and Road Joint Research Center, noted that the 2021 jobs fair was a successful event as more local Chinese firms turned up to showcase their expertise in a bid to attract would-be employees.
The campus of the Confucius Institute at the UNZA (DERRICK SILIMINA)
Advantages of learning Chinese
Zambia’s blossoming relationship with China, which began more than 50 years ago, has boosted the economy considerably. Today, about 1,000 Chinese companies are operating in Zambia in sectors covering manufacturing, retail, agriculture, infrastructure, health and education.
However, a language barrier between Zambians and Chinese can make communication bumpy. While China makes efforts to train its people in Zambia in English, Zambia’s official language, the barrier remains - particularly in parts of Zambia that use one of the country’s seven official vernacular languages.
The language barrier has created a demand for Chinese-speaking Zambians to help communicate with suppliers and companies personnel in China.
With the help from Zambia’s education officials, China is promoting Chinese language skills in Zambia through the Confucius Institute.
Zulu hinted that studying Chinese language is beneficial as it can solve the problems in the communication between Zambians and Chinese companies operating in the country, as well as help strengthen business relations with China.
Naturally, many Zambian graduates with Chinese language proficiency have found jobs as interpreters, accountants, supervisors and human resources staff in Chinese-owned firms. Others have been hired as senior administration managers, secretaries and line executives liaising with company headquarters in Beijing.
“We should all strive to learn more than one official language. For instance, Chinese language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world with close to 2 billion speakers. So when you learn Chinese, you double your world,” said Grace Nkombo, 23, a former student at Kabulonga Girls High School, noting that the teaching of Chinese language in Zambian schools is a very serious academic project that can help create jobs, given the large presence of Chinese companies in the country.
Zambian wholesalers and retailers - just like local employees of Chinese-owned companies - also find it useful to be able to speak Chinese. One example is Lillian Chileshe, 30-year-old owner of a small retailing business in Lusaka. She plans to enroll in the Confucius Institute, hoping to deal more effectively with her Chinese suppliers. “Transactions with my Chinese partners will be easier without a language barrier,” Chileshe noted.
Greater opportunities
For the first half of 2021, the trade volume between China and Zambia reached $2.61 billion, increasing by 63 percent from 2020. Zambia’s exports to China rose by 83.1 percent to $2.26 billion. Over the same period, China’s direct investment in Zambia totaled $166 million, Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Li Jie said at an event themed Creating Synergies Between Potential Employers and Prospective Employees in the COVID-19 Era.
In Zambia, there are now greater opportunities than before, thanks to a surge in Chinese companies which have created more avenues for local employment, but the real challenge is how to effectively communicate in Chinese language.
Some of the notable Chinese firms that took part in the just-ended job expo include Camco Group, Wo Long Investments, Huamei Tobacco Ltd., Jiangxi Guoji Corp., Longjian Road and Bridge Co. Ltd, China Railway Seventh Group Zambia Ltd. and China State Construction Engineering Corp.
Other Chinese firms included TopStar Communications Co. Ltd., Sinohydro Corp. Ltd., Chenguang Biotech Zambia Agri-Dev Ltd., and China International Water and Electric Corp.
Speaking at the opening of the job expo, UNZA Acting Dean of Students Grace Tembo said the job expo offers the right platform for graduating students to meet their prospective employers in a relaxed and conducive atmosphere.
Tembo said the Confucius Institute is readily available to offer Chinese language lessons to those who have secured jobs through the job fair, so as to ease communication challenges and enhance the exchange of ideas and skills as they embark on their new careers in the Chinese-owned companies, thereby leading to increased productivity and growth.
“Through the creation of synergies, we hope our students could have more opportunities in the job market despite the difficulties COVID-19 pandemic has brought about. It is hoped that as potential employers, the companies will continue to create space for the young generation who are most affected by lack of employment,” Tembo said.
