10/10 is a failure

After 9 years of painstakingly trying to hire ambitious, well rounded, enthusiastic, hard working, creative-thinking young people with common sense, straight out of university, I must conclude that there are none in China.

It's not their fault either. Which is the saddest thing.

I have watched with paternal love the rapid career development of a number of interns that worked in the company I ran in my early years in China. Plucked from university with maybe only one or two of the traits above, they thrived in an open, free, creative environment, acquiring the missing skills over time to ultimately become very successful as a result.

Despite the modernisation and globalisation of so much in China, the Middle Kingdom continues to teach children a SINGLE outcome/conclusion to any question or any given situation.

They are not taught about:
1. The process that led to the outcome
2. Any possible alternative outcomes

And heaven forbid any child who might question, challenge or try to dig deeper into the reasons or rationales.

So, you end up with millions of kids that are simply programmed to pass exams (albeit often with very high grades). But these new young people in the People's Republic are woefully ill equipped for a working life, requiring "join the dots" instruction and a new "tool kit" of thinking that we employers must provide.

I suspect that only International companies notice this issue, as the Chinese State Owned Enterprises and local private companies probably like their junior staff to simply do what they are told, and not question why.

But in a world where the designing/creation process is becoming far more important/value-add than the production/manufacturing process, China needs to think seriously about teaching its children to think.